The Story Of Teddy Lupin
by LeeAnn93
Summary: This is the story of Teddy during his school years. Teddy will experience many things in his life. While fighting a dark wizard like his godfather did growing up may not be one of those experiences, they will be amazing nonetheless. From school, to friends, to romance, and grief join Teddy on his adventures through life.
1. Chapter 1: The Early Years

The Story of Teddy Lupin

Chapter 1: The Early Years

After the war was finally over and everyone had taken some time to recuperate at Hogwarts with the help of Madam Pomfry, the house elves, and others well enough to help where they could they were slowly sent home. Transportation was set up for everyone. They could take the school train, the floo network, or apparate themselves (if they were of age and had their license, or someone could side-along them). As usual Harry returned to the Burrow with the rest of the Weasleys. Once the were back Molly tried to act like normal even though there was a glaring hole in the family, and not just the hole in George's head were his ear should be. Because of this she had a hard time letting Bill and Fleur go back to their home at Shell Cottage, only giving in when they promised to come for lunch every Sunday. And Charlie was back so that helped a little. But George wouldn't sleep in his and Fred's old bedroom and Harry felt so bad he mainly kept himself away from the family, staying in Bill's old room instead of in the attic with Ron. That is, until the day Andromeda came for a visit.

It was after all the funerals were finally over and Andromeda had decided it was time to have a talk with Harry about Teddy. He was the boy's godfather after all. So one Sunday afternoon she came to the Burrow and asked to speak with Harry in private. The two went outside to the garden, just far enough from the house no one could eaves drop (even with an extendable ear), but easy to retreat back to.

"Harry, I presume Remus told you he and Dora wished for you to be Teddy's godfather correct" Andromeda asked without preamble.

Harry looked down at his feet and answered in a whisper "yes".

Andromeda continued, "I understand that you may not be ready yet, but I feel it is important that you be involved in Teddy's life."

Still not able to look her in the eye Harry looked up and asked, "what exactly does being a godfather entail? I want to be in Teddy's life, to help make sure he knows who his parents were. Remus and Tonks entrusted me to be there for Teddy if they couldn't. so I will do the best I can. But seeing as my only example was Sirius, and you know how that worked out, I do not really know what I am supposed to do."

Andromeda took a deep breath before answering, "technically it means you could take custody of Teddy, but I do hope you won't do that. I want you to be involved, but please do not take him from me."

Harry finally met her eyes then and calmly yet firmly said, "I would never take him from you. He needs you much more than he does me."

Andromeda nodded in understanding somewhat surprised that she basically begged him not to take Teddy from her, some of what she learned growing up in the noble house of Black had stuck with her making begging very rare for her. "Very well. How about we start this out slowly. I will bring Teddy to you once a week, maybe Saturday or Sunday, and he can stay with you for the day and I will pick him back up that same evening. Once you, and I, become more comfortable with this arrangement we can discuss doing overnight visits. How does that sound?"

Harry only hesitated slightly before answering. "That sounds good. Thank you Mrs. Tonks."

"Please, call me Andromeda."

"Thank you Andromeda."

Before they could get half way to the house Molly came out and asked Andromeda to stay for lunch. It took some persuasion from Molly and Harry, but Andromeda agreed under the guise of letting Harry get a taste of taking care of Teddy while she was still there just to make sure things went smoothly.

* * *

As the summer went on Harry slowly got the hang of taking care of Teddy, with the help of Molly and Ginny (Hermione helped too until she left to go find her parents in the hopes of finding them in time to return to Hogwarts to complete her seventh year even though the boys had decided not to return with her). One thing the Weasleys had noticed is that on Sundays when all the Weasleys, Harry, Teddy, and Andromeda were present Teddy would change his hair color to match the hair color of who he wanted to hold him. This was fine when he wanted Harry, Fleur, or Andromeda, but when he wanted a Weasley it turned into a frantic game of pass the baby. The longer it took to get him to the right person the more it upset him and he would start to cry, becoming louder the longer it took. Besides that though things went pretty smoothly.

So when September first came along Harry was a bit sad to see Ginny go. When he had Teddy Ginny was always with him, sometimes just the three of them outside of the Burrow and Harry thought they felt like a little family. Not that he really needed help with Teddy anymore, but he liked it when they were all together, he was in love with Ginny after all.

So September first came and went and Harry found himself itching to get out of the Burrow. Not that he didn't love it there, but he felt he and Teddy were taking up space and causing people to lose sleep when Teddy would wake up at night. Plus since he had started working in the auror department as a beginning auror he felt it was time he grew up and got his own place. So that is what he did. He found a little flat to let in muggle London, though the landlord was a wizard and the top two floors were reserved for witches and wizards. It seemed perfect for Harry. It was not very big but it had two bedrooms so Teddy could have his own room instead of sharing with Harry like they did at the Burrow. He immediately agreed to let it. Only on his way back to the Burrow did the dread of having to tell Molly set in.

He stumbled through the gate of the Burrow and made his way down to the river. Ron saw him through the kitchen window and waved, when Harry didn't seem to notice Ron decided to follow him.

Once they reached the river Ron finally spoke. "Everything alright mate?"

Harry jumped, surprised to hear Ron. "Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

"I'm fine. But I'm not the one who is an auror and didn't notice he was being followed. Something on your mind?"

Harry sighed, "I let a flat today."

"Oh. And you're afraid to tell mum?"

"Yeah."

"I would be too mate. Why do you think I haven't let one yet?"

"Because you're waiting for Hermione to finish school so you two can live together."

"Well yeah that too. But I also don't want to tell mum. Saw how she was with letting Bill and Fleur go back to shell cottage didn't I?"

"Yeah. And they're married and were living there before the battle. I was just so pleased to find it that I snatched it up not thinking of what it really meant. Don't get me wrong, I love it here with your family, but I think its about time I start taking care of myself. And Teddy. It's the right move for me, but I don't want to upset Molly."

"Blimey Harry, you defeated the darkest wizard to live and you're the youngest auror ever. But you're still afraid of mum. Not that I really blame you. But if you can't tell her something like this how are the rest of us supposed to be able to do it?"

"Don't know mate."

Ron sighed, "its best to just get it over with. You know, quick like pulling off a plaster."

"Pulling off a plaster hurts whether you do it quickly or not", Harry mumbled back.

Ron nodded in silent agreement. "Come on mate, dinner should be ready soon. You can tell mum after."

Dinner was a bit uncomfortable. Harry was sure Molly knew something was going on even though she didn't say anything. Dinner was just so quite. Which is unusual at the Burrow. So once dinner was over Harry approached Molly while she was doing the dishes. Sometimes she did them by hand, tonight was one of those times.

Hesitantly Harry asked, "Can I help with the dishes Molly?"

Molly looked up from the soapy water and smiled. "Of course dear. Here you can dry", she said handing him a towel.

They worked silently together for a few moments before Molly looked at Harry again saying, "something on your mind dear?"

He nearly dropped the plate he was drying shocked by her voice in his anxious state of mind. He put the plate down and cleared his throat. "I let a flat", he mumbled just barely loud enough to be heard.

Molly's hands stilled on the fork she was washing. Slowly she put it down and turned to look at Harry. "What did you say?"

He cleared his throat again and said a bit louder this time, "I let a flat. In muggle London. Not far from the tube so it'll be easy to get around the muggle way. And I can apparate from right outside my front door in the hallway. The top two floors are reserved for witches and wizards so no muggles would see me apparating. And the fireplace in the living room is hooked to the floo network. Its two bedrooms, so Teddy would have his own room. One bathroom and little kitchen and living room. Its more than enough for me and Teddy." All of this came out in a rush for fear he would lose his nerve if he stopped even to take a breath.

Molly looked him over for a moment. "You know I still see that small 11 year old boy asking how to get to platforms 9 and ¾ when I look at you. But somehow you've grown up on me. All of you have. It doesn't seem real that you and Ron could actually be 18. I know you can take care of yourself, you were doing that before you started at Hogwarts. So its not that I don't think you're ready for this, you are. I've seen you with Teddy and you are wonderful with him. I know you will be if you move out. But are you sure this is what you want? You know you are always welcome here with us. Arthur and I love you like you are one of our own, whether you're with Ginny or not. So just know that you do not have to leave any time soon if you do not want to. Ok?"

Harry smiled at her. "Thank you Molly. I really appreciate everything you and Arthur have done for me. And for Teddy. I think this is the right move for me though. My lease starts in two weeks. I plan to ask Ron, Dean, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna to help me since the girls will be home for the Christmas holiday. I thought about asking George, but I assume if Ron is helping me then George will have to be at the shop."

Molly looked reproachfully at him "you will not be moving out over the Christmas holiday young man", she said sternly.

Harry gulped, "I'm just moving my things into the flat then so I can have help while the girls are here. I will remain at the Burrow until they go back to school if that is alright with you."

With a curt nod of her head Molly said, "good".

Once they finished the dishes Harry scurried up to the attic to tell Ron how the conversation had gone. He had started staying in the attic with Ron again some time after he started spending time with Teddy on a regular basis, only staying in Bill's room when he had Teddy over night.

* * *

Once Harry moved into his own flat and got used to being on his own (when Ginny wasn't with him after she got out of school before they got married) Andromeda started letting Harry keep Teddy more. After a while they were spending equal amounts of time with him so that Harry had him 50% of the time. This continued throughout Teddy's life becoming a father figure to him. And Ginny integrated in smoothly too after her and Harry got married. The two treated Teddy just like he was their firstborn. This continued even after having James, Albus, and Lily. To the point that Teddy confided in him and Ginny just as much as he did Andromeda if not more.

This came in handy when he got his Hogwarts letter shortly after turning 11. They all knew he would get it since his hair started morphing when he was only a baby and he started making things happen when he was upset as a small child. Teddy dreaded it though. He knew he would have to go there, the other schools were not an option. So when he got his letter he asked if it would be okay for Harry to take him to get his things for school. The day they went Teddy was sluggish and silent the whole time they were in Diagon Alley. Even when Harry took him to pick out an owl. So Harry used the newly purchased owl to start a conversation with him.

Harry looked down at Teddy as they walked along and asked, "what are you going to name your owl?"

Teddy, who was petting the small grey owl looked up at Harry for a moment before responding with a mumbled "Moony".

Surprised and yet not at the same time Harry nodded, "that's a good name Teddy."

"Yeah, especially since he's grey like the moon."

"Not because that was your dad's nickname in school?"

"No. But that's a good reason too I guess." He tucked his head further down and slightly blushed while his hair turned the same sandy color his father's had been.

Harry put his arm around Teddy and cleared his throat, "you know Teddy its okay to miss them. I still miss my parents. Why do you think I named my kids after them?"

Teddy sighed, "not everything I do is because I miss my mum and dad. I do miss them, but I don't think about them every second of the day. You and Ginny are like a mum and dad to me anyways."

"I know we are Teddy. And we think of you as one of ours, our firstborn. So that means you can talk to me about anything. If its not missing your parents, then what's got you so down today? Most kids are excited to finally be buying their things for Hogwarts."

Teddy sighed again, "people are gonna make fun of me."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because my dad was a werewolf. And I inherited mum's metamorphmagus ability. And in case you haven't noticed, my hair tends to change color with my emotions. That's quite enough for people to make fun of me for."

"Teddy, things aren't like they used to be. Werewolves are much more accepted now than they used to be thanks to Hermione's work in the MLE. There may still be a few who are teaching their children to be hateful, but most won't care. And you can use your metamorphmagus ability to your advantage."

"How?"

"Well, you know how you're always entertaining the younger ones and grandmum and granddad Weasley's on Sundays? Changing your appearance to look like me or Dominique or anyone else the kids ask you to do. They always think its so cool that you can do that. So you could make yourself look like a teacher or another student or something along those lines to entertain your year mates."

Teddy nodded, "yeah, that's a good idea".

Harry smiled but added, "if you tell any adult, especially those at Hogwarts, that I gave you that idea though I will deny it. Don't want anyone thinking I'm a bad influence on you."

"Ok Harry I won't tell anyone about the advice. Or the cloak and map" he added in a quitter voice.

Harry patted him on the back. "There's a good lad, all the things that could potentially get you in trouble stay between the two of us."

"Yeah. Though are you still sure you don't want to save the cloak and map for James when he starts school?"

"No. As I said before, you're our firstborn. That means the map and cloak rightfully go to you. Now that's not to say that when you finish school you shouldn't pass them on to James. I would very much appreciate that. But he does not need them until you are finished at Hogwarts."

Teddy smiled up at Harry and said "thanks".

With that the two returned to Harry's and Ginny's house in Godric's Hollow where Teddy would remain until they took him to the train on September 1st.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for this starting out a bit slow and boring. I had to give some information for the set up so everyone would understand Teddy's home life before starting Hogwarts. I promise it will pick up soon since he's starting school in the next chapter. Oh, and please bear with me as I get used to doing this, this is my first fan fiction story.


	2. Chapter 2: The Adventure Begins

The Story of Teddy Lupin

Chapter 2: The Adventure Begins

Teddy awoke early that morning. It was September 1st. He could have gone back to sleep for another hour or so, but he was too nervous to fall asleep again. So instead he made his way down to the kitchen to see about getting some breakfast for himself. When he got downstairs though he stumbled through the kitchen door to find Ginny sitting at the table nursing a cup of tea. Teddy stopped in the door way feeling as if he had been caught.

"Oh. Ginny."

Ginny looked up surprised to see Teddy up so early. He was not an early riser. In fact, he thoroughly enjoyed having a nice lie in when Harry and Ginny or his Gran would allow it.

"Oh Teddy, I'm sorry did I wake you?"

"No. I woke up a bit ago and couldn't fall back asleep. Please tell me you don't get up this early every day. I don't know how you could stand it."

"Ah. No I usually don't. I'm in the same boat as you I'm afraid. Couldn't go back to sleep. Would you like some hot chocolate Teddy?"

"Yes please."

Ginny stood to get his hot chocolate. When she returned to the table with it Teddy smiled in thanks and took a sip still looking at Ginny.

"Why couldn't you go back to sleep Ginny?"

"Oh you know. Sending my first baby off to school", she said as she reached over to run a hand over Teddy's head.

"I'm not really a baby anymore though am I?"

Ginny sighed, "no I guess you're not. But still. I'm a mum. Mums always see their children as the babies they started out as. Even once they're adults and have their own families. Look at my mum for instance."

Teddy mulled this over in his head for a moment then said, "yeah I guess that makes sense."

Ginny looked at Teddy for a bit before saying, "why couldn't you go back to sleep this morning Teddy? You excited?"

Teddy grumbled a bit and shrugged his shoulders.

"You know. I was nervous my first day. Don't get me wrong, I was really excited too. But when the day finally arrived I was nervous. I was afraid I wouldn't make any friends. I hoped I could hang out with Ron and Harry. And Harry probably would've been fine with it, but who wants their baby sister tagging along everywhere? So I understand why Ron didn't hang out with me. But it definitely did not help my nerves. And while I will admit it took me longer than I thought it would to make friends, I did end up making great friends eventually. And once I made those friends I didn't care what anyone else said or thought anymore. It takes everyone time to make friends."

Teddy nodded.

Ginny stood and got ready to leave the kitchen. When she passed Teddy she gently rubbed his back saying, "when you finish your hot chocolate why don't you go on and get ready. When you come back down I'll have breakfast for you."

With that they both left the kitchen to go get ready for the day.

To Teddy's surprise Harry and Ginny brought James, Al, and Lily with them to the train station. Not that he minded of course. It took his mind off being nervous by carrying Al around on his back and having a chat with James about when he would be back. James was sad he was leaving. At the last minute Harry pulled Teddy aside and left the boys with Ginny and Lily. Harry knelt down in front of Teddy so he could look him in the eye causing Teddy to squirm a little.

"Still nervous?"

"I'll be fine."

Harry patted Teddy on the shoulder before saying, "it's alright to be nervous, but I promise you'll be fine. Just give it some time and you'll probably end up loving it there just as much as I did."

"We'll see", Teddy sighed in response.

Harry stood back up to walk Teddy over to the train, having already put his trunk on a while ago. Giving Teddy's shoulder one last squeeze he ushered Teddy on board and reminded him which compartment they had put his trunk in.

Once Teddy was on the train he walked slowly to the compartment. When he got there he saw that it was empty, so he sat by the window so he could wave to Harry and Ginny. Then, just as the train started to pull away from the platform a small boy with black hair came stumbling into the compartment stopping short when he saw Teddy. The two made eye contact for a brief moment before the other boy cleared his throat and said, "mind if I sit in here?"

Teddy just shook his head so the boy came in and started struggling to put his trunk away. Seeing that the boy would not be able to do it on his own Teddy stood and helped him. When the trunk was finally stowed they flopped down on to the seats. The boy held his hand out and said, "I'm Lee by the way".

Teddy shook the boy's hand and said, "Teddy".

"Thanks for helping me with my trunk."

"No problem."

The boys sat in silence for a while until the snack trolley came round. They both got up and picked out a few different candies for themselves before paying and sitting back down. They both immediately started in on their candy eating in silence until Lee said (in between bites), "my mum would kill me if she knew I was eating all this candy before I even looked at the lunch she packed for me".

Teddy laughed, "yea. My gran would kill me too. But I don't think Harry or Ginny would mind."

Lee studied Teddy for a few moments before quietly asking, "what about your mum and dad?"

Teddy sighed. He knew he would have to explain his family eventually, he just didn't think it would be this soon. "My mum and dad died in the battle of Hogwarts in 1998. My gran and Harry and Ginny raised me. Harry's my godfather."

Lee swallowed, he hadn't been expecting that response. "So does that make Ginny your godmother then?"

"I guess. No one really calls her that. But it fits."

They continued eating their sweets for a few more minutes before Lee said, "I'm sorry I'm being so nosey, and you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but who were your parents?"

Teddy looked at Lee carefully trying to decide if he was going to be one of those people who still thought badly of werewolves. Deciding there was no way to know without saying anything he plunged in. "Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Lupin. Her maiden name was Tonks."

"Blimey. My mum's talked about your dad before. He used to be a professor at Hogwarts right. He taught Defense against the Dark Arts. My mum had him her 3rd or 4th year I think she said."

"Yeah. He taught Harry and Ginny too."

"Cool. I'm sorry about your parents though. That must be hard."

"Sometimes. But I don't really remember them so it makes it easier to not miss them. That's not to say that I don't miss them, because I do miss them. But at least I have my gran and Harry and Ginny and the rest of the Weasleys. Its more than Harry had growing up."

Lee sat up in his seat more, "wait a minute. The Weasleys?! Ginny Weasley? So that means your godfather is Harry Potter?"

Teddy nodded. He had never seen someone react like this when they found out who his family was.

Lee continued, "my mum was in school with Harry and several Weasleys. She was in Ravenclaw while they were in Gryffindor. But one year Harry formed a secret club to help teach Defensive spells because they had some horrid Defense against the Dark Arts professor at the time. She was in it with Ginny, Ron, Fred, George, and Hermione. There were other students too of course, but that's all the Weasleys. She said Hermione married Ron."

Teddy leaned forward a bit, "what's your mum's name?"

"Cho. Her maiden name is Chang."

"Hmm. I'll have to ask Harry about her. I've seen the picture of Dumbledore's Army and Harry told me who everyone was. I remember her being in it."

The two continued chatting easily all the way to the school. They talked about their families, what they were looking forward to about Hogwarts, what house they thought they would be in, and so on. When they finally got to school Teddy was starting to think that maybe he had already found a friend. They clambered off the train and over to where Hagrid was waiting for all the first years and Teddy made his way to front so he could say hi. He pulled Lee along with him. When they got closer to Hagrid Teddy waved. Hagrid patted Teddy on the shoulder and said, "Teddy! Glad ye'r finally here. You'll ride in a boat with me."

Teddy stumbled a little under Hagrid's hand and righted himself before saying, "great!"

Hagrid looked down again, "and who's this fella?"

Teddy smiled, "this is my friend Lee."

"Nice te meet ya Lee. You can ride in my boat too."

Lee smiled in response.

When they finally made it to the castle, Hagrid ushered them all out of the boats and into the castle where Neville Longbottom was waiting for them. Again Teddy made his way to the front of the pack so he could say hi to Neville. When Lee saw Teddy wave at Neville and Neville smile in return he nudged Teddy with his elbow, "Do you know him too?"

Teddy nodded, "yeah. He went to school with Harry and Ginny. He was in the same year as Harry in Gryffindor."

"And how do you know Hagrid?"

"He was here when Harry was. Taught Care of Magical Creatures. And he was the grounds keeper."

"Wow."

Neville said a few things to them about how the sorting would go and then he led them into the Great Hall. All the other students were sitting at their house tables waiting somewhat patiently for the sorting to take place. Neville had them all gather around in front of the sorting hat and pulled out a scroll with a list of names on it. He started to call them one by one having each first year come sit on a stool and he would sit the hat on their head. For some students the sorting hat would call out their house immediately, for others he took time to consider all options. When Teddy's name was finally called he slowly made his way up to the stool. Neville sat the sorting hat on his head and the hat started talking to Teddy.

"Well well well. Your family has an interesting background. Your grandmother was a slytherin and your grandfather was a hufflepuff like your mum. But your dad was a Gryffindor like your godfather and all the Weasley family. You are brave enough for Gryffindor, and loyal enough for hufflepuff, and cunning enough for slytherin. Hmmm. Where to put you?"

Teddy listened intently while the sorting hat said his piece. He knew he could say something to the sorting hat about where he wanted to be, Harry had told him he could. But he decided to just wait and see what the sorting hat decided without his input.

The sorting hat continued it's deliberation for a bit longer before finally calling out "Hufflepuff!"

Teddy jumped down from the stool and made his way over to the hufflepuff table. Settling in he waited for Lee to be sorted, silently hoping he would be put in hufflepuff too. When Lee's name was finally called the sorting hat didn't take quite as long to decide with Lee as he had for Teddy, but he still took his time. Then finally the sorting hat called out "Hufflepuff!"

Lee made his way to the table and sat down next to Teddy high fiving him as he did so. Teddy was so happy Lee was in the same house as him.

* * *

The next day Teddy wrote a letter to Harry and Ginny and a letter to his gran telling them he had been sorted into hufflepuff. He was sure they would all be okay with that. After sending his letters out with his owl Moony he made his way down to the Great Hall for breakfast before he had to make his way over to his first class, charms.

By the end of the first week at Hogwarts Teddy had settled into a rhythm. Eating meals with Lee and usually walking with him to and from classes since they had all the same classes. And since hufflepuffs took classes with ravenclaws he only ran into slytherins in the Great Hall or sometimes between classes. And unfortunately he had already come in contact with one of those who had been taught that blood status mattered. William Greengrass. He was a first year student as well, but he could be very nasty. He ran into Teddy on the third day of school. Literally ran into him knocking them both to the ground. Teddy got a little flustered and his hair changed color. This is what gave him away to William. When William got back up he shoved Teddy back down to the floor while saying, "stay down dog. Dogs do not walk on two legs." Then he turned to walk away. Before he got very far he turned and threw a wadded up piece of parchment a little past Teddy and yelled, "fetch!" Then stormed off with his friends laughing. Lee helped Teddy to his feet.

"Just ignore him mate."

"Wanker", Teddy mumbled before heading in the direction of the potions classroom with Lee.

This behavior from Greengrass continued everyday. Sometimes he would howl at Teddy when he saw him enter the Great Hall, or bark at him between classes. It only ever turned to words of insult when there was a bigger audience, but without professors around of course. As the weeks turned into months Teddy had gotten quite used to ignoring Greengrass and his friends. So long as he still had Lee as a friend he could deal with Greengrass. Lee didn't think of him, or his dad, as anything other than a wizard. He did write to Harry about it though after it had been going on for a little over a month.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I seem to have found a student who believes in blood status. And he knows dad was a werewolf. So he has taken to making dog/wolf jokes around me. Even howling or barking when he sees me. He doesn't say much, its mostly the howling. But Lee is really great about it. He helps me ignore Greengrass when he acts like a git. Sorry. But like I said, I've learned to ignore him. I just thought I'd tell you about it anyways. Please don't tell gran though. Don't want to upset her. Anyways, other than that everything here is fine. You were right, I made a friend and now I'm happy I'm here. Thanks Harry._

 _Love,_

 _Teddy_

* * *

When Harry came downstairs to get breakfast ready while Ginny was getting the children up he saw Teddy's owl sitting on the owl perch they keep in the kitchen. Giving Moony some owl treats and water he took the letter from his leg and then the owl flew off. Harry read the letter after he started breakfast. By the time Ginny and the kids came downstairs breakfast was done and Harry was furious. Of course Harry has certain tells that make it obvious when he is mad, he runs his hand threw his hair and the back of his neck turns blotchy red and he tends to pace. So when Ginny noticed this she sat the kids at the table to eat and dragged Harry into the living room. Turning to look at Harry Ginny said, "what's wrong?"

Harry raked his hand threw his hair again and looked at Ginny. "How do you know something's wrong?"

"Harry, how long have I known you? I think I can pick up on your tells and figure out how you're feeling love."

"Oh. Right. I got a letter from Teddy. Someone is bullying him. I was afraid this would happen. And so was he, he told me when we bought his things for school. I have half a mind to go up there myself."

"Harry, you can't go up there. That would make it worse I'm sure. Who is it?"

"A Greengrass kid. Of course it would be. Astoria Greengrass married Malfoy. Her family would have to be just as bad if they would marry into his family. If I can't go up there what should I do instead?"  
Ginny hugged Harry and said into his chest, "is Teddy handling it okay? Did he sound upset by it?"

"No", Harry mumbled.

"Well that's good. In that case I would just write back to him and be encouraging. Tell him how you handled bullies in school. Or actually, tell him how I handled bullies seeing as how you dueled Malfoy and nearly killed him. Might not want Teddy doing that." Ginny stifled her laugh against Harry's chest.

"Oh and you're so much better? Sending bat bogey hexes at anyone that gets in your way."

Ginny slapped his arm. "Okay, so maybe don't tell him how either of us handled bullies. Just encourage him to not let it bother him and to focus on his studies and friends."

"Yeah alright."

What Harry didn't tell Ginny was that he was going to write to Neville. He knew he would tell him not to, but he felt he should. So that night he wrote back to Teddy saying what Ginny told him to. Then he wrote to Neville, explaining the situation. Harry hoped Neville would be able to do something about it.

* * *

On Halloween Greengrass and his friends sought Teddy out. Greengrass had been called in to Professor Longbottom's office the day before and given a detention for bullying Teddy. But he knew the only way a professor would know is if the dog told someone. So today he would teach the dog a trick. How to beg. But first he needed to find him.

Lee and Teddy were making their way down to the Great Hall when Greengrass and his friends came out of nowhere blocking their path. They had been running late so no one else was in the corridor when they were stopped. The slytherins circled Teddy and Lee with William Greengrass in the front facing Teddy.

"So you ran whimpering to Professor Longbottom about my harmless jokes did you? Well that was a mistake."

Teddy looked at Greengrass for a second then said, "no, I didn't tell him."

"Well you must have told someone. How else would he have known."

"Harry", Teddy whispered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."  
"So you told your godfather. Well I'll teach you not to go barking to anyone again, won't we boys?"

The other slytherins murmured their agreement. Then Greengrass snapped his fingers and two boys grabbed Lee and two boys grabbed Teddy. Greengrass punched Teddy hard in the face then looked him square in the eye and said, "I'll let you and your side kick go when you beg me to. I'm sure you know how to beg, it is a common trick that seems quite easy for dogs, of all breeds, to grasp."

Just when Greengrass was about to punch Teddy again another boy came out of nowhere and tackled Teddy to the ground. He was followed quickly by Headmistress McGonagall and Professor Longbottom. The boys let go of Teddy and Lee when they saw them coming and tried to run, but Minerva isn't the Headmistress for no reason. She easily put up a shield charm and blocked their path, then rounded them all up and took them to her office, calling over her shoulder "Professor Longbottom please come with me."

He nodded and turned to the third boy saying, "thank you Wood. Would you mind helping Teddy to the hospital wing please?"

"Of course Professor."

Then Neville turned and ran after McGonagall. Lee helped Teddy up and looked at the other boy, "Wood. You're a ravenclaw right?"

"Yeah. First name's Neil."

"Right. Sorry. I should have known that since we have classes together."

"Nah that's okay. I don't know everyone's names either. But I heard Greengrass bragging to his friends saying what he had in store for Lupin and most of my friends said to leave it be, but I couldn't."

Teddy sighed, "Well thanks for helping. I was not about to beg him to do anything. I'm fine now though, I don't think I need the hospital wing."

Lee looked at him with a slight frown on his face. "Mate, you're nose is bleeding and it looks crooked. I think its broken."

"Ugh! Bloody git. Cant believe he punched me. If his minions hadn't been holding me back he wouldn't have been able to make contact. And if he had I would have hit the wanker back so hard he'd have hit the floor."

Wood laughed, "come on lets get you to the hospital wing then. Madam Pomfrey'll fix you right up."

So the three of them headed for the hospital wing in relative silence. And Neil was right, she did fix his nose pretty effortlessly. And from then on the three were pretty inseparable. If Neil was there the other two weren't far behind. They started sitting together in their classes too. Even if Neil was in ravenclaw, its not as if you can only be friends with people in your house. So they could often be found doing their homework together last minute in the library, goofing off around the castle, and eating together.

Then came Christmas. Teddy realized that Harry had been right, he loved it there. Greengrass hadn't bothered him since Halloween and he had two best friends. He was even doing pretty good in his classes. Well, except for potions. He always seemed to struggle with that class. But nevertheless, he was enjoying himself to the point he knew he would miss it and his friends when he went home for the holiday.

When it finally came time to go home the boys sat together on the train talking about what their families did for Christmas. They were in awe of the Weasleys Christmas because of how large it was.

* * *

A/N: I'm still getting the hang of this whole writing thing. I think this chapter is better than the first. Please note (as I'm sure everyone knows) these characters are not mine but J.K. Rowling's. I found her Weasley family tree that she did of the next generation so that's where I'm getting those characters. I always see people putting this statement in their author note so I figured it was better to be safe than sorry and go on and put it in mine too. I hope you like the story so far.


	3. Chapter 3: Family Holiday

The Story of Teddy Lupin

Chapter 3: Family Holiday

This Christmas was like every other Christmas Teddy had had since he was a baby. On Christmas Eve he was with his Gran. Then when they got up on Christmas morning they opened their presents and went to Harry and Ginny's to open presents there with James, Al, and Lily as well. Harry and Ginny always got him just as much as they did the others even though his Gran got him presents too. Then from there they all went to the Burrow for lunch and a few more presents. Grandmum Molly knit everyone a sweater with the letter of their first name on the front of it. This year Teddy's sweater was yellow because he was in hufflepuff. After lunch all the kids would bundle up and go play outside, usually having a snowball fight. It was wonderful. Then that night he would go home with Harry and Ginny.

Since every holiday is the same every year Teddy was pretty used to the routine. But there was something slightly different this year. It wasn't how much Victoire followed him around (sometimes he found that rather annoying but he got over it), it wasn't James and Al begging to be on his team for the snowball fight, and it wasn't the amount of food grandmum Molly made either (always enough to feed an army). No, what was different was the fact that he awoke to two extra presents Christmas morning. He has sent Lee and Neil presents this year, but for some reason he hadn't expected them to send him anything. It made him very happy to get their presents. It confirmed for him that they were truly his friends.

With that Teddy had an enjoyable holiday as always. On the last night of the holiday Harry sat down with Teddy to see if he could get Teddy to tell him more about his time at Hogwarts so far. The chatted easily for a while and a few things, including how he made friends with Lee and Neil. Which led Teddy to ask Harry about Lee's mum and Neil's dad.

Harry was surprised to find out who the parents of Teddy's new friends were. He remembered Cho from during the battle. There was no way she was pregnant or had just had a baby. He would have to figure out how she managed to now have a son the same age as Teddy. But Harry talked about them both anyways.

"Well, Neil's dad Oliver was Quidditch captain when I was in school my first couple of years on the team. He played Keeper. He took the game very seriously. He's a coach now I believe."

"Wow that's so cool. Neil said he was a coach and that he played in school, but I didn't know you played with him."

"Yeah. It was great. And Lee's mum Cho was in my year. She was in Ravenclaw."

"She was in the D.A. right?"

Ginny came the rest of the way down the stairs then and said, in a laughing tone, "yeah, she was in the D.A. alright."

Teddy looked from Harry to Ginny then back to Harry. Ginny had a look on her face he had never seen her make before and Harry was blushing. He wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Harry rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat.

Teddy looked up at Ginny again, "why did you say it like that Ginny?"

"Why don't you ask Harry, he knows why."

Harry sighed and Teddy turned to look at him.

"Why did Ginny say it like that Harry?"

"Well, I sort of kissed Cho once in the Room of Requirement after a D.A. meeting", Harry mumbled.

"What?! You kissed Lee's mum? Where was Ginny during this?"

"Er."

"Yeah where was I Harry?"

"Well, you know Ginny and I didn't start dating until I was 16 and she was 15. So that was the next year. I kind of, sort of like Cho before I liked Ginny." He rushed that last bit out pretty quickly.

"Oh. That's weird. Yeah I'm not gonna tell Lee about that."

"Probably a good idea" Harry said.

Teddy got up to go to bed and stopped on the bottom step. He looked over his shoulder and said, "wait a second. You were 17 when I was born right? It was during you're 7th year?"

"That's right."

"Well if Lee's mum was in your year that would mean she was in her 7th year when I was born too right?"

"Yes she was. Why?"

"Well if Lee and I are in the same year, wouldn't she have had to have him during her 7th year?"

Harry hesitated, "yes, she would have had to have him then."

"So she had him during her 7th year then?"

Harry rubbed his neck again, "no. As far as I know she wasn't pregnant then."

"Then how did she have Lee early enough for him to be in my class?"

"I'm not sure buddy. Why don't you go on to bed now, tomorrow will be a busy day."

Teddy trudged up the stairs, exhausted as he always was after a crazy family holiday.

Ginny sat down on the coach next to Harry and snuggled into his side wrapping her arms around his waist. He put his arm around her shoulders and they sat in silence for a few moments. Ginny looked up at Harry, "what do you think, was Lee adopted? Or maybe he's her stepson?"

"He's probably adopted. I think he would have let on to Teddy if Cho were his stepmum."

"Yeah you're probably right. I wonder if Lee knows."

"I would hope so. I don't know why they wouldn't tell him. And I imagine he couldn't have been adopted until he was a toddler so Cho could have gotten married before adopting him."

"Good point. Come on, let's go to bed love."

Ginny stood up and pulled Harry to his feet before dragging him upstairs to their bedroom.

The next morning had Harry and Teddy making a mad dash out the door. Harry had been right, Teddy loved Hogwarts. All that meant now though was that Teddy was not waking up early because he was nervous. He had returned to being extremely difficult to get him out of bed in the morning, like trying to pry the gnomes out of the Weasley's garden. This of course caused them to be late leaving. Not that Harry could really blame Teddy, he and Ron had been the same way when they were in school, especially Ron.

When they finally made it to the train station Lee and Neil were already there with their parents. This gave Harry the perfect opportunity to talk to Cho and Oliver. Teddy ran ahead to meet Lee and Neil so they could look for a compartment. The three boys scrambled onto the train with Harry calling after them, "yeah okay see at the Easter hols Teddy!"

Teddy paused on the steps of the train, "oh right". He turned and ran back over to Harry and gave him a quick hug, "bye Harry see you at Easter". He went back to the train and found the compartment that Lee and Neil had gone into.

Seeing that Teddy was done with him having reunited with his friends Harry turned to Cho and Oliver. "So our kids are friends."

Oliver clapped Harry on the back, "looks that way doesn't Harry. Glad Neil has made some good friends."

Cho smiled, "me too. Lee was so worried he wouldn't have any friends at Hogwarts."

"So was Teddy."

"Well it's a good thing they found each other then. Sorry I can't stay to catch up longer Harry, but I've got to get back to work. See you all around." With that Oliver left.

Harry looked over at Cho, "do you have time for a quick coffee maybe?"

"Sure."

They walked out of the station and walked down the street a short ways and went into the nearest coffee shop. After getting their coffees and sitting down Cho cleared her throat, "so what did you want to talk about?"

"Am I that obvious?" Harry chuckled.

"You always have been Harry."

"Alright, I guess I'll just jump right in then. Is Lee adopted? I know its none of my business, but you would have had to have him our 7th year for him to be the same age as Teddy. And it doesn't matter if he is adopted. But Teddy was confused when he asked me about you and found out we were in the same year. So I just want to be prepared for any questions he may ask me and"

"Harry, take a breath."

"Sorry."

Cho took a drink of her coffee before saying, "yes, Lee is adopted. About a year after I got married we found out Lee was up for adoption. And since we hadn't gotten pregnant yet we decided to go on and adopt him. We had discussed adoption from the beginning. We both understood the benefits of it. So when we found out Lee's parents had been killed in an accident we decided to adopt him. He has been such a blessing to us. And we love him just as much as we do Mae. But he's not very open about his adoption. He got teased some about it when he was in primary school. So he decided he didn't want to tell people at Hogwarts."

"Why would kids tease him for being adopted?"

"Kids made fun of you for being orphaned didn't they?"

"Well yes. I didn't understand it then and I don't understand it now. It's crazy."

"It is. But unfortunately some kids can be cruel. So he doesn't tell anyone. I do hope you won't say anything to Teddy about it before Lee decides to tell him."

"Oh I won't. I promise. I just wanted to know in case Lee told him and Teddy asked me any questions. Thank you for telling me."

Cho smiled at Harry and nodded, "of course".

With that they left the coffee shop going their separate ways.

Meanwhile on the train Lee, Teddy, and Neil were talking about their Christmas. They told each other what some of the presents they got were and thanked each other for the gifts they sent. When they had exhausted this topic Teddy looked at Lee, "can I ask you a question?

"Sure."

"Are you adopted?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Because your mum was in the same year as Harry and he said he doesn't remember her being pregnant or having a baby then. So that would mean she's either your stepmum or your adopted right?"

"That's the only thing that would make sense to me", Neil added.

Lee sighed, "yeah I'm adopted".

"Cool", said Teddy.

"You think it's cool I'm adopted?"

"Yeah. If Harry could have been adopted instead of living with his aunt and uncle he may have had a better childhood. And even though I'm not legally adopted, I might as well be. I just don't call Harry and Ginny mum and dad. I used to want to. I even tried it a few times when I was little. But Harry explained to me one time why he wasn't my dad and it just sort of stuck. But they're still my parents."

"So you don't think its weird or unnatural? Or that my birth parents didn't want me or that my mum and dad must love my little sister more than me because mum gave birth to her or anything like that?"

"No way mate. Look your parents chose you. The way I see it that means they love you more than anyone could imagine. And if anyone wanted to say your parents loved one of you more than the other it would only make sense for it to be you. Because they picked you for themselves. It was just the luck of the draw that they had your sister. Though I think they love you evenly."

"Wow. I never thought about it that way before. Thanks."

Neil was silent during this whole conversation prompting Teddy to ask him if something was wrong.

"No, I'm fine. I didn't have anything as good as what you said to add so I just listened. I agree with what you said 100%."

With that their conversation turned to something lighter until they finally made it back to the castle. They couldn't wait to be back, even if they did hate doing homework.


	4. Chapter 4: The First Year Ends

The Story of Teddy Lupin

Chapter 4: The First Year Ends

As Teddy's first year at Hogwarts started to wind down the trio could often be found in the library revising for exams. They all hated homework and studying and it was times like these Teddy wished he had made a friend like Hermione. He remembered Harry and Ron often teasing Hermione about always having her nose in a book and the library being her second home. When they would do this she would turn to them and say, "and do either of you honestly think you would've made it through six years of Hogwarts without me?" They would usually leave her alone after that. Harry explained one time that Hermione always had to prod them into doing their homework and revise for exams. He admitted that she was right, if it wasn't for her checking over his and Ron's homework or dragging them to the library to study they probably would have failed all the exams. So now Teddy wished that he Lee or Neil were like Hermione. He was sure they would all be doing better if that were the case. As it was they were forced to make themselves buckle down and study. This turned into them goofing off for most of the time and then cramming as the exams approached.

One day Teddy got a letter from Hermione. He was surprised to see her handwriting on the envelope and thought for sure something awful had happened to Harry or Ginny is she was writing to him. When he opened the letter though he found an outline of what to study and when to study it. Attached was a note that said

 _Dear Teddy,_

 _I fear that you may be like Harry in one unfortunate way… not liking or wanting to study. If it wasn't for me he probably would have failed his classes early on. And no that is not considered bragging because it is true. He and Ron both admit it. So incase my fears are correct I took it upon myself to draw up a study schedule for you and your friends. I hope this helps._

 _Love,_

 _Hermione_

Teddy was touched by Hermione's note and schedule. He immediately wrote her back saying,

 _Dear Hermione,_

 _Thank you so much for making me a schedule. Lee, Neil, and I are having a hard time with revising for our exams. This will really help us. I hope it didn't take you too long to do this, but I really appreciate it._

 _Love,_

 _Teddy_

That evening after dinner the trio retreated to the library with their schedule. Since they had goofed off so much already they were going to have to make some adjustments to it in order to get to everything before exams, but at least this gave them a good starting point.

So the rest of the year was spent revising and doing their current homework, they had never been so happy first years couldn't try out for quidditch. They knew that next year they would have to really buckle down if they wanted to be on their house teams and do good on their exams. But that was something to worry about next year.

* * *

Once exams were finally over they had one full day left at Hogwarts to spend however they pleased. So after breakfast they went down to visit Hagrid and have tea with him. They were excited to meet his new puppy. He had been so upset by the loss of Fang that it took him a few years before he was finally ready for a new one. When they got there Hagrid ushered them in quickly, "little thing's been tryin ter escape every time I open the door. He likes me. just likes bein outside too."

The boys came in and sat down at Hagrid's table and the puppy immediately jumped into Teddy's lap. He'd never been around dogs much before, but the few times he'd run across one on the village they seemed to be drawn to him. He often wondered if it was because somehow the dogs could sense he was the child of a werewolf.

"What's his name Hagrid" Teddy asked around the dog who was now licking his face.

"Well I've been callin him Junior. Fer Fang Junior. He looks just like Fang did when he was a pup. Found out they're from the same family. So he's not really Fang's son, but still."

"Well if thet's what you like Hagrid then it's a good name. good boy Jr." Teddy was fascinated by the dog.

"Well how did your exams go boys?"

Teddy was still focused on Jr. so Lee answered, "okay I think. Hermione sent Teddy a study schedule so that really helped."

"Yeah, if it hadn't been for that who knows what we would've done," Neil added.

"Probably failed and then been disowned by our families," Lee mumbled only somewhat jokingly.

"Teddy what about you. Think you did okay on your exams?"  
"Huh? Oh yeah. I think I did fine."

They stayed and chatted with Hagrid for a bit longer and then dragged Teddy away from Jr. so they could go to lunch.

After lunch in the Great Hall (where they noticed many students were sitting at different tables. Slytherins at the Gryffindor table, Hufflepuffs with the Ravenclaws, etc.). So Teddy and Lee joined Neil at the Ravenclaw table while they ate their lunch. When they were done eating they wandered outside to roam the grounds. They took turns trying to turn twigs and leaves into random things or sending them flying at each other. Even though they should have been packing they stayed outside until dinner.

After dinner Neil went with Teddy and Lee to there dormitory whle they packed and then they followed him to the Ravenclaw dormitory to help him pack. They stayed in the Ravenclaw common room until almost curfew. They just barely made it back to Hufflepuff before curfew.

The next day they had breakfast together in the Great Hall before getting on the train to go home. This was the first year Teddy wouldn't be spending this day with Victoire. He liked celebrating her birthday with her, mainly because it took his mind of the fact it was the anniversary of his parents' deaths. He tried to make the most of his time with Lee and Neil though. He decided he would just ask Harry if they could stop by Shell Cottage before they went home.

So the boys spent the train ride discussing the summer holiday and what they would each be doing. Lee and Teddy were jealous of Neil's summer.

"Dad said he would take me to practice with him some this summer. He thinks it'll help me prepare for try outs next term. It'll be fun though."

"You think he'll take you to the games too," Teddy asked excitedly.

"Yeah he usually takes me to a few. You guys want to come to one with us? I'll ask him if we can bring you along. It'll be fun."

"Awesome," the boys shouted in unison.

"Okay. I'll ask him when we get home."

Lee told them about going to Asia that summer. "Mum thinks we're both old enough to go now. She wants us to learn about our heritage and culture. Thinks she'll be able to teach us better by showing us. We won't be gone all summer though. So hopefully I'll be here when your dad says we can go to a game with you."

"Just write to me and let me know when you'll be gone and I'll make sure it happens when you're here so you can both go."

"Okay cool. Thanks."

They turned to Teddy expectantly. He usually had some kind of cool story about spending the holiday with the Weasleys. "What are you doing this summer Teddy?"

"Oh you know, the usual. Every Sunday will be spent at the Burrow with the whole family. Every other week with Gran and every other week with Harry and Ginny. We try to keep with switching every week. It makes it easier to keep up with when I go where. Though that doesn't mean we can't and don't change things a bit. Like if Harry and Ginny plan a family vacation and it can only be on a week that I'm supposed to be with Gran, then Gran let's me be with them that week too and I'll go back to her house when we get back. It works out pretty easily now. But I don't think we have anything planned this year."

"So the same as Christmas and Easter holidays then," Lee asked.

"Yeah pretty much."

They could tell something was off about Teddy but they didn't know what. And they thought it best to not ask for some reason. If he wanted them to know he would tell them. So they just continued eating their sweets and talking until they reached the station.

They all filed off the train slowly, not ready for the term to really be over. It seemed their parents were far more excited than they were. Lee saw his mum, dad, and sister smiling and waving as he went to meet them. His mum immediately folded him into a bone crushing hug only mothers were capable of giving. Neil saw his parents waving too. He was surprised to see his dad had dragged himself away from the team long enough to come get him. He ran over and gave them both a hug. Afterward, Oliver bent down and said, "I've got to go back to finish practice. Do you want to come with me and be my assistant for the rest of the day? When we're done we'll meet mum for dinner at your favorite restaurant."

Neil beamed up at his father, "ok cool! Mum are you gonna take my trunk?"

"Of course dear. You enjoy your time with dad and I'll see you both at dinner." She bent and gave him a quick kiss on top of his head making him blush and look around to make sure no one saw.

While this was going on Teddy was looking for Harry. But instead of seeing Harry he saw Victoire's head pop up out of the crowed. She spotted him and started waving like she was directing a landing airplane. But he grinned and ran over to her. Only then did he see Harry standing behind her levitating her so she could see Teddy over everyone. He sat her down when Teddy got to them and she threw herself into his arms wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. He wrapped her in an equally tight hug and lifted her off her feet. When he sat her down he held on for just a bit longer so he could whisper "Happy Birthday" in her ear. When he stepped back he gave Harry a quick hug before saying, "Victoire what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be off celebrating your birthday?"

"I celebrated this morning with mum, dad, Dominique, and Louis. We had my favorite breakfast, then mum took me shopping for a new outfit and we had ice cream. Then uncle Harry came and picked me up so I could come with him to pick you up. I always spend my birthday with you. For as long as I can remember you've been with me. I wasn't about to let this year be any different." She was grinning from ear to ear now.

Harry looked down at Teddy and said, "Ginny and the kids are meeting us at Shell Cottage. We're having dinner over there. Then when we're done I'm taking you to Andromeda's. I have a busy week this week so you're starting the summer with her this year. Just not until after we've fully celebrated Victoire's birthday."

"Great!"

While they followed Harry to an apparition spot Teddy looked down at Victoire. "I'm glad I get to celebrate with you. It was weird not seeing you today. So I was going to ask Harry if he could take me by Shell Cottage on our way home. I'm glad you came with him."

"I'm glad you like spending my birthday with me. You always make it so much fun. So of course I came with Harry. Dad was a little surprised by me asking, but mum seemed to be expecting it. She was kind of weird about it."

"Hmm. Interesting. I wonder why."

"Who knows. Mum is just weird sometimes."

Harry was listening to their conversation as they walked behind him. He was sure they thought he wasn't listening. And it was taking a lot for him to not laugh out loud at their conversation. It was clear to the whole family that Teddy and Victoire held each other in a special regard. Most of them were certain it meant they would end up together when they got older. Bill was adamantly against this theory. He liked to say it was just because Victoire was the first one born after Teddy so they became fast friends. That Teddy was anxious to have anyone to play with, even if it was a girl. So this made them best friends, that's all. But Fleur knew better. She saw how Victoire looked at Teddy. It reminded her of how she looked at Bill, but as a child who did not yet know she had a crush. Harry thought it was quite funny. And he often wondered when they would become more than friends. He was sure it wouldn't be until they were both much older. But still, it was something he sometimes thought about. After all, this was his oldest child. He often thought of how all four of them would grow up and fall in love and start their own families. It made him happy to see Teddy's story play out before him.

* * *

When they finally got to Shell Cottage they saw that the entire family was there, including Andromeda. Molly had come over and helped Fleur cook while Arthur and the uncles helped Bill set up the tables and chairs outside. Victoire was so excited to see the party, but she never left Teddy's side. She grabbed Teddy's hand and dragged him around with her the whole night. After food, cake, and presents Teddy and Victoire tried to organize some game with the kids. By the end of the night they were all exhausted and had to be dragged and carried off by their parents. Victoire went to bed that night with a smile on her face. And Teddy on his part went to bed without his hair changing pink or sandy brown and without feeling sad in the least. It was a good day.

* * *

A/N: I see a few people have continued reading past chapter one and I really appreciate it. Writing this has been so much fun and it makes me happy that people are reading it. I hope you guys have enjoyed it so far. Sorry it took me a while to post the 4th chapter. I hope you guys will stick with me.


	5. Chapter 5: Summer Holiday

The Story of Teddy Lupin

Chapter 5: Summer Holiday

That summer was the same as all the ones before, except this summer he was 12 and had just finished his first year at Hogwarts. This meant he was also looking forward to his second year. A week into the holiday he got a letter from Neil about going to a quidditch game with his family. Not that he hadn't been to quidditch games before thanks to Ginny writing for the Quidditch section of The Daily Prophet, but this was different. Instead of sitting in the press box they would be on the sidelines with the coaches. They would have to use binoculars to see the players above, but it would still provide a different and exciting experience. So he eagerly showed the letter to Harry once he had read it.

"Harry! Look at this! It's a letter from Neil saying his dad would take me and Lee with them to a game. Can I go? Please."

"Can I look at the letter for a moment please?"  
"Sure." Teddy handed it to Harry.

Harry looked it over, it was simple and straight forward. It said,

 _Teddy,_

 _Lee doesn't leave until June so we can go to a game this month. My dad said this weekend would be a good game for us to go with him. He's even gonna let us sit on the sidelines with him and maybe meet the team. Send me an owl back with your answer._

 _Neil_

Harry looked up at Teddy who was hopping from foot to foot in anticipation. "Sounds like it'll be fun. I don't see any reason you can't go. You're with us this weekend so I say tell Andromeda what you're doing, but I don't see her having a problem with it."

"Yes! Thank you thank you thank you!" Teddy turned to run upstairs to his room so he could write to Neil.

"Wait."

Teddy stopped in the doorway and turned to look at Harry.

"When you write to Neil ask him if me or Ginny need to bring you to the pitch or their house or anything. We can and we don't mind to do that. We don't want to inconvenience Oliver."

"Okay I'll ask. Thanks." With that he ran out of the kitchen and up to his room. He immediately wrote to Neil saying he could go and asking what Harry had told him to ask.

The rest of the week went by pretty slowly. When Saturday finally arrived Teddy was so excited he practically flew down to the kitchen for a quick breakfast before Harry took him to Neil's house.

When they got there Harry knocked on the door and Neil flung it open, "Teddy! Lee just got here a few minutes ago. Come on we'll leave soon."

Harry grabbed the back of Teddy's shirt to keep him from running off just yet. "Neil could I talk to your mum for a moment?"

"Oh yeah, of course. Come in."

Harry let go of Teddy then and they followed Neil into the house and into the kitchen.

"Mum? Teddy and Mr. Potter are here."

Mrs. Wood looked up from the table at them as they entered the kitchen and Harry faltered for a moment. He had never known who Oliver had married. He assumed he didn't know her. Until just this moment anyways. It was Alicia Spinnet. She was on the Gryffindor quidditch team his first year.

"Alicia?"

"Harry."

"I didn't realize you were Oliver's wife. It's good to see you."

"Its good to see you too Harry."

Neil and Teddy looked between the two adults confusedly. Finally Neil spoke up. "You guys know each other?"

Alicia looked over at the boys (Lee had just joined them in the kitchen too), "Yes. We played quidditch together in school. His first year was the first year I was brought up from the reserves. He was quite good if I recall. Surprised he didn't play professionally honestly."

Teddy looked at Harry expectantly.

Harry blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well you know I never liked being famous. I wasn't about to bring it on myself if I could help it. Anyways, thank you for taking Teddy to the game. He's very excited."

"Oh of course. Neil is pretty excited as well. We have a port key arranged to take us to the pitch since there are three of them and only one of me. Don't really want to try and side along three people at once. We'll be leaving here in about 30 minutes. And since we don't know when the game will be over I thought it might just be easier for the boys to stay the night. They can floo home in the morning. If that's alright with you of course."

"As long as its not any trouble for you and Oliver then it's fine with me."

"Oh no trouble at all."

"Alright then. Thank you." Harry turned to Teddy then and added, "now you be good for Mr. and Mrs. Wood okay. And have fun. I'll see you tomorrow." Harry went to kiss Teddy on the top of his head but remembered he didn't like for him to do that in front of other people any more so he checked the motion at the last second and just patted his shoulder.

Alicia stood and walked Harry to the door where Harry thanked her again before leaving.

* * *

When they got to the quidditch pitch and met up with Oliver he took the boys to his office in the locker room while Alicia went to the family box to watch the game from there. She found early on when Oliver started coaching that if she was on the sidelines with him she started trying to give him advice on what different players should do. This did not go over well with him. Not that he didn't value her opinion of course. They often talked strategy at home. But at the game was a different story, he would want to listen to her but also not deviate from his plans. It stressed him out. And in the end, winning the game came first for him in that moment. And ignoring her lead to a fight at home, which often escalated to exiling him to the couch where he was very lonely. So after some pretty awful rows she decided it was best to stay far away from the sidelines. They were both much happier this way.

Meanwhile the boys were loving the time in the locker room. Oliver had tried to get everything done before the boys could get there so he could actually spend some time with them. So he finished up his last little bit of work then looked up at them. "So boys, any last minute advice on this game?"

Neil picked up the stat sheets on his father's desk and looked through the details he had on the other team before looking up and saying, "well they're seeker seems to be pretty fast. Maybe even a bit faster than yours dad. So he's gonna need to keep a sharp eye out for the snitch, because if it comes down to an all out race to it he may not get there first."

Oliver nodded, "good, I was thinking the same thing." He smiled at his son then looked to the other boys, "anything else?"

Teddy looked over the stats too for a few minutes. Then finally he said, "well, Muller has wicked good aim. Nearly all his bludgers make contact with his mark."

"Yes, he has taken quite a few players out in the past."

Teddy looked at the stat sheet again, "maybe if one of your beaters always focused on hitting him. The other could send it towards the chasers, keeper, and seeker, but if you could take Muller out of the game it may save some of your chasers."

"Hmm. That's a good idea too. Glad you agree with me."

Lee, who had been reading the stats over Teddy's shoulder, looked up then. "What about the chasers?"

"What about them?"

"Well, O'Leery is new. Just came up from the reserves this season. He has a few trick shots up his sleeve. But he seems to always use them. He's become predictable almost. So as long as your keeper knows O'Leery's trick shots then he should be able to block them pretty easily."

"Yes that's what I'm hoping as well."

Oliver silently appraised the boys for a moment. "I do hope you three are all planning to try out for your house teams next year, even if it does mean you two will be playing against Neil. You all seem to have a good understanding of quidditch. It will come in handy when you're playing. Anyways, how would you like to help me give my pep talk?"

"That would be great! Awesome! Yeah, thank you!"

With that Oliver lead the boys out into the locker room a little earlier than he normally goes out so they could meet the team.

"Hey, you guys remember my son Neil right?"

They all murmured their agreement of remembering him saying hello.

"Well, these are two of his mates from school. Teddy and Lee. They've looked over the stats with me and have a few suggestions for tonight. I agree with each of them wholeheartedly. So if you would hear them out that would be great. Boys, go ahead."

One by one they each said what they had said to Oliver earlier in his office. The team seemed to like what they were hearing. When it was time for the team to take the field they high fived the boys on their way out of the locker room.

During the game the boys stood on the sidelines out of the way. They made sure to hand every player that came down a water and towel while they either took a turn on the bench or listened to Oliver telling them something to do/change/fix. In the end the team one. It was an average length as far as how long it lasted. And it was an intense game, the score going back and forth until finally the snitch was caught. It was amazing.

After the game the boys returned home with Mr. and Mrs. Wood for a late night snack before bed, during which they discussed the game at length. When the boys finally went up to bed they lay awake talking for a while.

"You guys are so lucky both parents understand and like quidditch. If my dad isn't there I have no one to talk quidditch with. Mum tries, but I end up explaining more to her about quidditch in general than I do talking about a specific game."

"Yeah its great having a coach for a dad. He's pretty busy, but he always makes time to talk quidditch with me. He reckons it'll help me next year when I make the house team. He is much more confident in my abilities to make the team than I am. I'll probably just be a reserve at first."

"Yeah I'm sure I'll just be a reserve too. If I even make that. Anyways, both your parents played Neil, so even though your mum isn't a coach she still understands the game really well because she used to play. And Teddy, Harry was recruited heavily and he was the youngest seeker on the Gryffindor team in over a century and Ginny played professionally for a while before she became a quidditch reporter. I bet you guys have some interesting quidditch conversations too."

"Well yeah we do. But pretty much every Sunday we have pick up quidditch games after lunch at the burrow. This is only the first year I've been allowed to play with the adults though. They play hard so you can't play until you start at Hogwarts. But they kids play their own games too. It's just more tame than the adult game. It's a lot of fun."

"Oh well then you'll definitely make the team next year," Lee mumbled.

"Really it depends on how many players they keep on from the previous year I guess. If they've already had real play time I imagine they would be better than a newbie. But I guess we'll find out come September. No sense in worrying about it now."

"Yeah."

Neil yawned, "alright let's get some sleep".

In a matter of minutes they were all asleep.

* * *

The next day it took Alicia three trips upstairs to finally wake the boys. Apparently they were all heavy sleepers who enjoyed having a nice lie in. when they finally made their way to the kitchen she fixed them some breakfast. While they were eating they chatted a bit.

"When you get back from Asia you guys should both come over to Harry and Ginny's one weekend and come to the Burrow with us for Sunday lunch. Molly won't mind and then we can all play a game of quidditch with the adults. Get in some good practice before school."

"That sounds great, I'm sure my dad will love the idea. All the Weasleys, besides Percy played. And Harry and George both played with dad at the same time. I bet it's a great game."

"Okay cool. Something to look forward too while we're traveling. I'm starting to worry this is going to be a boring trip. I hope I'm wrong. But the way mum talks about it it doesn't sound very exciting. I mean, I'm sure it'll be very educational. It'll help me really understand my culture and heritage, which is important. But I'm 12, I don't want to just look at a bunch of stuff and eat traditional foods. I need some kind of exciting, fun activity every once in a while to keep my attention. Hopefully she realizes that."

"I'm sure it'll be better than you think," Neil said around a bite of porridge.

"Yeah."

"Alright so I'll ask Harry when I get home about you guys coming over and I'll let you know what he says. I'm sure it'll be fine though."

After breakfast they lined up by the fireplace to floo home. Lee went first with a thank you to Neil's mum for breakfast and for having them. Then Teddy went thanking her as well. She told him to say high to Ginny for her.

When Teddy came spinning out of the fireplace Ginny caught him before he could land face down on the rug. "How was the game? Did you have fun?"

"Yeah it was great. Mr. Wood let us look at the stats and give him advice. He agreed with what we said so he let us tell the team ourselves. And the game was awesome."

"Good, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. Would you mind terribly keeping James and Al occupied while Lily takes her nap. They seem to enjoy bothering her right now and I really need her to nap. Since they love spending time with you I know it'll keep them away from her. I hate to ask."

"It's fine. We'll go out back and play with their toy brooms. That okay?"

"Of course. Do be careful on your broom though."

"I will."

Teddy walked into the kitchen, "hey James, Al, lets go outside and fly around a bit. I could use some practice since I'm gonna try out for the house team next year."

James shrugged, "okay", he was in a phase where he wanted Teddy and the other older cousins to think he was cool.

Al's face light up, "Okay! I'll help you."

"Thanks guys."

The boys followed Teddy outside to get their brooms (James' and Al's were toy brooms of course) out of the broom shed. They flew around together for almost an hour before Al said he was tired. Teddy could tell James was too but didn't want to say anything. When they dragged themselves back in Lily was up from her nap and having a snack. The boys wanted one too so they sat down at the table while Ginny got their food. Teddy went and sat down on the couch and closed his eyes for a moment. He didn't realize Ginny had followed him in until she sat next to him and put her arm around him. "You're such a good big brother. I'm not sure how you do it, but you're good with all three of them. Always have been. Even when you were 6 and James was a newborn. We're all lucky to have you."

"Thanks Ginny. Sometimes it's fun being a big brother. Especially a big brother who gets a break every other week. Sometimes I even miss them." He smiled to himself when he said that.

"Oh I'm sure you miss the noise and crazy when you're with Andromeda. Because what sane person wouldn't," she said laughingly.

"Well, sometimes when Aunt Narcissa comes to visit Gran she brings Scorpius with her. He's Al's age. But he's much more reserved than Al is. He seems to be okay with me though."

"Have you met Draco and Astoria?"

"A few times. After Scorpius was born Gran took me to see him. That was the first time I met them. Astoria has come by more than Draco. They always send me something for my birthday. Draco came more when Scorpius was a baby, but as he got older he started coming less. Now he doesn't come as much as Astoria. But he's okay when he does come. He seems to be trying to get to know us."

"That's good. I'm glad they're making an effort. I'm sure Andromeda and Narcissa love their time together too."

"Gran loves it when aunt Narcissa comes by. She smiles the whole day."

Ginny patted his back and gave him a quick kiss on the head before she got up to go back to the kitchen, "good. She deserves to be happy. Come get a snack if you're hungry." With that she left the living room.

* * *

A few weeks later found Teddy laying on his bed at his Gran's house when there was a knock on the front door. Teddy was trying to do his summer homework, but curiosity at who was knocking distracted him. To be fair it was pretty easy to distract him from his homework since he hated doing it. So he decided he would slip downstairs and try to see who was there. When he got down the stairs he heard voices in the kitchen. He tiptoed over and peeked through the small opening where the door was slightly ajar. To his surprise he saw Draco Malfoy sitting in the kitchen with Astoria and Aunt Narcissa. He was holding a slightly squirming Scorpius. It was not unusual for Aunt Narcissa to be there with Scorpius. The surprise was Draco. He had come a few times. But he hadn't been in quite a while. While Teddy was trying to remember the last time Draco had come when he heard, "Teddy quit spying on us from the living room and join us in here please".

Teddy shuffled in with his hair a slightly red color and mumbled, "sorry Gran".

Teddy sat down next to Draco and Scorpius at the table and started playing with Scorpius a little. The two faded to the background while the women talked. He didn't notice that Draco watched him play with Scorpius the whole time. When they Malfoy family left Draco hefted a sleeping Scorpius up higher onto his hip so he could carry him easier. But as they were leaving Draco hung back just a bit and said, without looking at Teddy, "you're really good with Scorpius. He talks about you all the time after he comes home from these visits. I see why now."

Teddy rubbed the back of his neck, a habit he had picked up from Harry, and said, "Al's the same age, so I get a lot of practice with him. Scorpius is a lot calmer than Al though. It's nice to see that side of a toddler every once in a while. And he is my cousin."

"Right. Well thank you. I'm glad he has you." With that Draco left to catch up with his mother and his wife so they could go home.

Later that night Teddy told his Gran about the conversation he had with Draco. She didn't seem very surprised. "He loves that little boy. He may seem very standoffish, but he wants Scorpius to have a better childhood than he did. He struggles with his past, and you being Harry's godson does not make him very comfortable with us. But he is trying and that is all we can ask of him."

"Why does Harry being my godfather bother him?"

"Their pasts are connected in some unfortunate ways. But it is not my story to tell. So you will have to ask Harry or Draco about it if you want to know more. But do keep in mind that he is trying."

"Okay Gran."

"Now then, best go and finish some homework before supper."

Teddy grumbled a bit but got up and went back to his room anyways.

Teddy thought a lot about what his Gran had said about Draco over the next few weeks. He tried to ignore it, but it was really bothering him. He knew he couldn't ask Draco though. And he didn't want to ask Harry. He thought maybe Ginny would be a safe person to ask. Or maybe Hermione. Ron would probably tell Harry he asked. So he decided he would try to ask Ginny the next time he was at their house.

So the next week he was back in Godric's Hollow with the Potters. He made sure to get up at a decent hour Monday Tuesday and Wednesday, he worked on his homework without prodding, and he helped with the kids without being asked. He was trying to get on Ginny's good side before asking her about Harry and Draco, and this did not go unnoticed by Ginny. So Wednesday afternoon when Lily was napping and Harry had taken the boys out to burn off some energy Ginny went up to Teddy's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Ginny walked into the room, turned the desk chair around to face Teddy laying on his bed, and sat down. "How's your homework coming along? Do you need any help?"

"It's good. I may ask you to read over this essay I'm working on now when I finish if you don't mind though."

"Of course. Which class is it for?"

"Potions."

"Ah. I take it you like potions as much as Harry did then?"

"If you mean he hated it because he never really understood it and it was his worst subject then yes."

"I see. Well when you finish writing it let me know and I'll read it."

"Thanks."

"Is there anything else on your mind Teddy?"

Teddy didn't answer.

"What is it Teddy?"  
"I had this weird conversation with Gran about how Harry and Draco had a past that was connected in unfortunate ways. But she wouldn't tell me how. Could you?"

"Oh Teddy. You really should ask Harry."

"I was afraid you'd say that. But couldn't you tell me just a little? Please?"

"All I'll say is this, both of them had hard lives, but from different perspectives. And a lot of it wasn't either of their faults. A lot of what happened to Harry and Draco was caused by other people's choices. But even with as hard as Harry's life was, it was better than Draco's. If you want more than that you'll have to ask one of them."

"Okay."

Ginny stood to leave but Teddy stopped her, "Gran says he's trying. That he wants Scorpius to have a better life than he did. I think she's right."

"That's good Teddy. I'm glad." She smiled and left him to finish his essay.

* * *

Lee and his family came back at the beginning of August. That weekend he and Neil came to visit Teddy at Harry and Ginny's house. They got there on Saturday around lunch time. Neil had to floo there, which Harry and Ginny were fine with, because his parents were both busy that day and couldn't take him. But since they both knew Harry they were fine with it. Lee on the other hand was brought over by his mum, dad, and sister. They were taking his sister shopping for school clothes so they dropped Lee off on the way. When they got there Cho knocked on the door and Teddy ran to answer it.

"Hi Teddy, is Harry busy? My husband would like to meet him."

"Okay. He's in the kitchen with Ginny. Come in."

So they all followed Teddy into the kitchen.

"Lee and his parents are here."

"I see that Teddy. Thank you." Harry stood up then to shake Cho's husband's hand.

"Hi, I'm Carl. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Harry and this is my wife Ginny."

"Nice to meet you Carl. Cho, nice to see you again." Ginny took Harry's hand and gave it a possessive squeeze.

"Nice to meet you too Ginny."

"Good to see you again Ginny."

"Well dad you've met them so you guys can go now."

"Lee don't be so rude," Cho reprimanded.

Harry knelt down then so that he was eye level with Mae. "And who is this pretty little girl?"

She smiled and kind of ducked behind her mum a bit more.

"This is my sister Mae. Mae say hi to everyone."

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hi Mae."

"Well, I guess we should get going. Lee can just floo home tomorrow if that's alright with you all."

"Oh yea that's fine."

"Be good for Harry and Ginny okay."

"Yes mum."

Harry and Ginny walked Cho, Carl and Mae to the door leaving the boys in the kitchen.

The next day found the three boys dragging themselves out of bed still half asleep. They had stayed up pretty late the night before watching movies. Harry loved watching movies so when he and Ginny moved into the house he got a tv for them and bought any movie he thought looked interesting. He had Disney movies, horror movies, comedies, etc. Neil and Lee had never watched tv before so they were fascinated by it. Because of this they stayed up watching as many movies as they could. So when they got downstairs for breakfast they were all groggy and could barely keep their eyes open. But they made it through breakfast and then went upstairs to get ready for the day.

It was good that all they had planned was going to the Burrow for Sunday lunch later. They could have a bit of a lazy day since they were so tired. When it came time to leave for the Burrow they filed back down the stairs and took turns going threw the floo. Harry went first with Lily and Al, then Teddy, then Lee, then Neil, then Ginny with James. Lee and Neil had never seen so many red heads in one room before.

Lunch was amazing. Teddy hadn't been exaggerating when he said how great Molly's cooking was. And it was so fun being with everyone. They got to meet all of Ginny's brothers and their wives and kids. And they were especially excited to meet Victoire. Teddy talked about her all the time. He said he didn't like her as more than a friend, but he talked about her too much for her to just be his best friend. So when they finally got to see them interact they were fascinated. To a casual onlooker they probably really would look like they were just best friends. But to them, watching intently to try to see if there was anything going on, you noticed little things. The way they smiled at each other, the looks they gave each other that obviously conveyed messages only they could understand, and they pretty much never left each others side (until they played quidditch with the adults that is, though Victoire made sure to cheer for Teddy's team). It was clear to them that Teddy and Victoire liked each other, they just didn't know it yet.

Another thing Teddy wasn't lying about, the adults played to win. They didn't hurt the kids or anything, but George and Bill weren't shy about hitting bludgers directly at any of the other adults. George even broke Charlie's nose during the game. The teams were Bill (beater), Charlie (seeker), Angelina (chaser), Neil (keeper), and Teddy (chaser) then George (beater), Ron (keeper), Harry (seeker), Ginny (chaser), and Lee (chaser). Lee was glad he was on Ginny's team, he was sure he could learn a lot from her. And he did. Overall, it was a great game. Lee's team ended up winning. But even still, everyone had fun and the boys got in some good practice.

Once the game was over they went to play some muggle game called football. It had some similarities to quidditch, but Teddy kept having to remind Lee and Neil of the rules. But it was fun and it was something more of the younger cousins could play. By the time that game was over all the kids were exhausted. Lee and Neil flooed home from the Burrow. And after they left Andromeda side alonged Teddy home. She was glad she finally got to meet Neil and Lee, they seemed like good boys.

* * *

The end of the summer came pretty quickly after that. Before he knew it it was time for Teddy to get his things for school. This year Ginny took him. It was nice, they got everything he needed and then had ice cream before heading home. It was a lot more laid back this year since Teddy wasn't nervous now.

The next week Harry took Teddy to the train station just the two of them instead of taking the whole family. Which was fine with Teddy, he said bye to them that morning before he and Harry left. Then when they got to the station Harry helped him get his trunk onto the train and then told Teddy bye before he ran off to join his friends who had just gotten there. It was a bittersweet moment for Harry. He was glad that Teddy had made such good friends, but he was sad he was growing up so fast. It seemed like just yesterday he had been a baby and now he was running off with his friends more and spending less time with Harry. Teddy waved at Harry from the train and Harry waved back. He kept waving until the train had completely left the station.

* * *

A/N: I think this is my longest chapter so far. It took me a while to finish I know that. But I'm trying to show more of what is going on. I hope you guys like it. Thanks for continuing to read it.


	6. Chapter 6: Back to Hogwarts

The Story of Teddy Lupin

Chapter 6: Back to Hogwarts

The boys were so excited to be going back to Hogwarts. They had missed it over the summer. And, while they had seen each other some and would never admit this out loud, they had missed each other. So the train back to school was very loud and exciting in their compartment. They bought a ton of sweets even though their parents had packed them lunches and ate until they felt sick.

When they finally arrived at Hogwarts they followed the other students off the train and over to the carriages. Teddy couldn't see the thestrils that pulled the carriages, but he knew they were there. Harry had told him about them once. He thought Harry hadn't really meant to bring them up, but once he had Teddy had wanted to know more, so Harry told him. He was glad he couldn't see them. But since he knew they were there he decided to pet the one pulling their carriage when they got out.

"Teddy, what are you doing?"

"Yeah come on, quit petting the air and let's go inside."

"It's not air. The carriages are pulled by thestrils."

Lee looked at him like he had suddenly grown three heads, "no the carriages pull themselves. That fourth year Gryffindor told us at the platform. Remember?"

"Yeah he said that, but come here. Put your hand next to mine and tell me you don't feel it."

Lee walked over ready to tell Teddy it was just the air, but when he put his hand next to Teddy's he was surprised. "How are you doing this Teddy?"

"I'm not doing anything. That's the thestril you felt. I promise. Harry told me all about them. You can only see them if you've seen someone die."

Neil walked over then and put his hand where Lee's had been. "Whoa!"

"See. The carriages are pulled by thestrils."

Lee put his hand back up, "why would that guy say there's nothing pulling the carriages then?"

Teddy shrugged, "he probably doesn't know. Why would he? I don't know of anyone that can see them."

Neil shuddered, "I would hope not."

Neville walked up to them then, "hurry up you three. Don't want to miss the sorting do you?"

"No professor," they said together.

Lee and Neil hurried off but Teddy wasn't so eager to leave the thestril. "Professor, can you see them?"

Neville sighed, "yes I can. Most of the professors can, if they were here during the battle anyways."

"I'm sorry professor."

"Me too Teddy." He patted Teddy on the back, "come on, let's get inside."

With that they turned and walked into the castle.

* * *

After the feast the boys made their way to their dormitories. Lee and Teddy going to Hufflepuff and Neil to Ravenclaw. They would see each other tomorrow for class. When Lee and Teddy were settled in their dormitory Lee looked over at Teddy and whispered, "you awake?"

"Yeah."

"Why couldn't I see the thestrils? I mean, I was there when my birth parents died. So I should be able to see them then right?"

"But do you actually remember them dying?"

"No."

"Maybe that's why. Maybe you have to be able to remember seeing them die. Do you want to be able to see them?"

"Not really. I just thought it was weird."

"Yeah. I'm sorry Lee."

"It's okay. Goodnight Teddy."

"Night Lee."

A few minutes later they were both asleep.

The next morning at breakfast found Neil at the Hufflepuff table with Lee and Teddy looking over their schedules. That year they had Defense Against the Dark Arts with Ravenclaw, Herbology with Gryffindor, Potions with Ravenclaw, Transfiguration with Slytherin, Charms with Gryffindor, History of Magic with Slytherin, and Astrology with Ravenclaw. So the boys only had three classes together, but that was okay, they would still do their homework together in the library and see each other during meals. Neil looked at Teddy for a moment, "you gonna be okay with Greengrass being in Transfiguration and History of Magic with you?"  
"I'll be fine. He hasn't bothered me much since last Halloween."

"He still barks at you."

"That's why I said much Lee."

"I didn't know he was still barking at you."

"Because he only does it when I walk into class or out of class when the teacher either isn't there or is distracted and won't hear. I ignore it. It doesn't bother me so I decided not to mention it."

"So basically I only know because I'm there when he gets barked at. I still think you should tell Professor Longbottom."

"Why? If all he's doing is barking that's no big deal. I honestly don't care."

Lee shook his head and Neil sighed. "If you're sure it doesn't bother you then okay. But if it turns into more than barking again you'll have to tell someone."

"I know Neil. Come on, we'll be late for class."

Lee and Neil followed Teddy out of the Great Hall.

By the end of the first week they had easily slid back into the routine they had had the previous year. Get up, eat breakfast together, go to class, eat lunch together, go to class, do homework together in the library, go to bed. Greengrass still barked at Teddy like he had last year and Teddy still ignored him. At the end of the week Teddy to wrote a letter to Harry and Ginny and a letter to his Gran. He told them about how his classes were going and how he, Lee and Neil were doing.

They only change to their routine was quidditch. The boys were all trying out for their house teams; Lee and Teddy the second Saturday of school and Neil the second Sunday. So Saturday morning found Lee and Teddy down on the quidditch pitch holding brooms. Lee used a school broom, but Harry had sent Teddy his broom from home for the try outs. Teddy was also much more confident than Lee was. They were both trying out for a chaser spot. There were two open but there were a lot of people trying out. They each took their turn playing in a chaser position while others were trying out for seeker and beater as well. The team captain that year was 6th year Allison O'Flannery who played keeper. She did play keeper against those trying out for a chaser position, but she let the reserve keeper play some too to see how they were doing and so she could better watch the seekers and beaters try out. Teddy made the most goals on Allison out of everyone that tried out, 7 total compared to the average of 4 or 5. They left the field feeling pretty good about how they had done.

Lee looked at Teddy, "you made the most goals, you'll get on the team for sure".

"You did good too Lee. I'm sure you'll on too."

"I think I'll probably just make the reserves."

"No way."

"Yeah. But I'm okay with that. I'll still get to practice with the team so then maybe next year I can make the team for real."

"Well I still think you'll make the team this year, but as long as you're okay with either one then good."

The two continued up to the castle to meet Neil for lunch and tell him about their try out. When they entered the Great Hall Neil waved them over to the Ravenclaw table where he was already sitting. They sat down across from him at the table and started wolfing down their food.

"So try outs? Or can you stop inhaling your food long enough to talk about it?"

Teddy swallowed, "sorry. Just so hungry after that. It was brutal, but fun."

"How do you think you did?"  
"I think we both did great, but Lee's not so sure."

Neil turned to Lee and raised an eyebrow.

"I think Teddy was awesome. He made the most goals out of everyone that tried out for chaser. But I just did okay."

"You did better than okay."

"I would say I was average. I wasn't better or worse than most of the players. So I think I may be a reserve player. Which is fine with me."

Neil nodded, "Okay, sounds like it went pretty well then."

"And what about you? Are you ready for your try out tomorrow?" Teddy asked.

"Yeah I'm ready. I practiced all summer with dad and he sent me my broom this morning so I could have it for the try out instead of using a school broom. So I'm hoping it'll be fine tomorrow."

Lee nodded, "I'm sure you'll do great. You'll make keeper for sure. Who's the team captain again?"

"His name is Connor Sturges, he's a 7th year. Plays chaser. He's really good, been on the team since his second year."

"Know anything about him not related to quidditch?"

Neil looked at Lee for a moment before answering, "not really no. but I don't need to know anything about him that's not quidditch related. It's not like I'm trying to become his best mate or anything."

"I guess that's true."

They continued eating their lunch and talking about quidditch. When they were done with lunch Lee and Teddy went to change clothes and Neil went to get his books from his dorm. They were going to meet in the library to try to finish up their homework before tomorrow so they could just relax after Neil's try outs. When Lee and Teddy came out of the second year dormitory they ran into Allison.

"Oh hey you two, great job out there today. I'll be posting my final decision by Monday."

"Okay thanks," Teddy said while Lee nodded along.

With that Allison went to the girl's dormitory and the boys left to meet Neil in the library. When they got there Neil wasn't there yet, but Greengrass and his friends were. So they tried to find a table far away from them, but not before William saw them.

"Well if it isn't the dog, I didn't know the library allowed dogs inside. Be sure you don't get bored and start chewing on a book."

His friends laughed while Teddy and Lee walked away.

"Oh and do keep the barking to a minimum, libraries are a place of quiet study."

This caused more laughter to come from his cronies.

Teddy and Lee made their way over to a table as far from Greengrass as they could get. Shortly after they got settled Neil arrived. "Hey, I saw William and his friends when I walked in. They were laughing about something."

Lee shook his head, "still?"

Neil looked up from where he was pulling books out of his bag, "what do you mean still?"

Teddy sighed, "just another one of his stupid dog jokes, no big deal".

"You should really tell someone. You know Professor Longbottom from before you started here, tell him."

"No need. I can handle the barking and occasional jokes."

Lee looked at him for a moment before saying, "you're not afraid he'll attack you again like last year are you?"

"What?! No. I could take him no problem. I just don't feel like getting into it with him."

"Wait. I thought you said he only barked at you? You didn't say he was making comments again too."

"Well that was the first time since last Halloween. Look can we just let this go please and finish our homework?"

"Fine," both boys grumbled.

So they finally got started on their homework only talking when one of them asked a question about whichever assignment they were working on.

The next day was Neil's turn to spend the morning on the quidditch pitch. He made his way across the grounds stopping at the school broom shed to get his broom before continuing down to the pitch. When he got there he scouted the competition trying to decide who was trying out for which position. He made a few a guesses but wasn't completely sure until Connor called for them to split off into groups based on which position they were trying out for.

There was only one other person trying out for keeper. He didn't know his name but he had seen him coming out of the 4th year boy's dormitory before. He was a little worried that he would make the team over him because he was older. He was also surprised to see that there was a girl trying out for beater. Not that he cared or thought girls couldn't be good beaters, it was just rare. Most beaters were guys. He was interested to see how it played out.

Connor had each of them try out based on position. So first he watched the keepers, then the chasers, then the beaters, then the seeker. Neil was pleased with how he had done. He managed to block 3 more shots than the 4th year boy did. He hoped that was good enough to make the team. He was also very impressed with how the girl beater had done. She was excellent. He was sure she would make the team.

Once they were dismissed Neil made his way back up to the castle. He noticed that the girl that tried out for beater was a bit ahead of him so he ran to catch up. "Hey, you were great out there."

She looked up at him surprised by hearing him when he hadn't been next to her a moment before, "thanks. You too."

They walked in awkward silence for a few minutes before Neil finally said, "sorry, but what's your name?"

"Sophie."

"Sophie, cool. My name's Neil."

"Cool."

"What year are you Sophie?"

"Third."

"Oh. I'm a second year."

"Cool."

They reached the castle then and Sophie immediately went in the direction of the Ravenclaw dormitory. Neil wanted to talk to her a bit more but he was supposed to meet Lee and Teddy for lunch so he just said, "alright see you around then."

He headed into the Great Hall and sat down at the Hufflepuff table with Lee and Teddy. Teddy looked up excitedly, "how'd it go?"

"Good. I blocked 3 more shots than the other person trying out for keeper so that's good."

Lee nodded, "yeah it is. I'm sure you'll make the team then."

"I hope so."

Teddy patted him on the back, "I'm sure you will."

"Thanks. Oh and this third year girl, Sophie, tried out for beater. She was amazing. I'm sure she'll make the team." He said all of this with a slight grin on his face.

Lee and Teddy looked at each other then Teddy said, "you like her don't you."

"What? No. I just met her. How could I already like her?" He blushed a bit.

Lee chuckled, "yep, you like her."

"Whatever," Neil mumbled.

They went on eating their lunch. When they were done they decided to go see Hagrid since they had finished their homework the day before. They spent the rest of the day with Hagrid talking with him, playing with Junior, and helping Hagrid with some of the work he still had to get done that day. Overall, it was a good day.

* * *

A/N: Sorry it has taken so long to get this chapter posted, I've had a bit of writer's block. This chapter was really hard to write for some reason, so I'm a little nervous about it's quality. I hope you all like it though and I will be working on the next chapter soon. Thank you for sticking with me.


	7. Chapter 7: Making the Team

The Story of Teddy Lupin

Chapter 7: Making the Team

Monday morning Teddy was the first one in his dormitory up. He tried to wake Lee but he just grumbled a bit and rolled over. So Teddy made his way to the common room alone to check for the posting, but it wasn't up yet. He decided to go on and get ready hoping the list would be posted when he was done. Half hour later he tried to wake Lee again who told him to bugger off and went back to sleep. So again Teddy went by himself to the common room to check for the posting. And again it wasn't there. He decided to sit in one of the more comfortable arm chairs in the common room and wait. About an hour later Lee came stumbling in, "I just realized why you kept trying to wake me. has it been posted yet?"

"No."

"Oh. Why are you up and dressed then?"

"I hoped it would be posted by the time I got done getting ready. But it wasn't. so now I'm just waiting."

"Why? You could get a short kip before breakfast if you went back to bed now."

"Nah, too excited. And anxious."

"Okay, well I'm gonna go get ready then."

"I'll be here."

"Okay."

Lee went into the bathroom to get ready and Teddy got comfortable in his chair. While he was waiting he decided to write a letter to Harry. He dug some parchment and a self inking quill out of his school bag and started writing.

 _Harry,_

 _Try outs were Saturday. Allison, the team captain, said she would post the team roster today sometime. So I woke up really early and came to check the bulletin board. But it's not there yet. So now I'm sitting in the common room waiting. May not be a good idea, I'm not sure I want Allison to see me waiting for her to post it. Especially if I didn't make the team. I really really hope I do. I tried to remember everything Ginny told me, and I managed to make 7 goals on Allison (she's the keeper) while the other chasers made an average of 4 or 5. That's good, right? I hope Lee makes the team too. He thinks he'll only make the reserves, and he's okay with it if he does. But I hope he makes the team. It'll be fun to be on the team together. Neil's try out was yesterday, not sure when his team's captain will make his final decision. But apparently there was a girl there trying out for a beater position. Neil said she was great. Lee and I think he has a crush on her. I guess we'll see. Well Lee's back now so I guess I'll finish this up. Thanks for listening, or reading I guess, Harry._

 _Teddy_

 _P.S. Oh I almost forgot, thanks for sending my broom up for the try outs. I think it helped._

Teddy rolled the parchment up and sealed it before putting it in his bag. He looked up at Lee, who was fidgeting a bit. "Let's go eat breakfast now so we can come back before class and check the board okay?"

"Yeah sure."

"Oh and could we stop at the owlry so I can send Harry the letter I just wrote him?"

"Sure."

"You okay Lee?"

"Yeah. Just nervous."

"Me too."

They continued to the Owlry in silence. When they got there Teddy's owl, Moony, swooped down and landed on his outstretched arm and nuzzled against his cheek in greeting. Teddy petted him for a moment before giving him the letter. "Take this Harry please Moony."

The owl flew away.

"I thought you were going to wait and write Harry when you found out if you made the team?"

"Yeah, but I got more nervous while I was waiting for you to come back so I needed to do something to distract myself. I'll write him again when I find out."

Lee nodded and they made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. When they had been there for only 10 minutes Neil walked in. "I thought you guys might be here early."

"Yeah. Teddy was up at dawn waiting for Allison to post the roster. So we decided to eat now so we could have time to go back and check before class."

"Good idea." Neil sat down with them and started to eat breakfast too.

They ate in silence, all too nervous to really talk. When they still had about 30 minutes before their first class they made their way back to the Hufflepuff common room. Neil went with them since he had brought his school bag with him to breakfast and he wanted to see if they had made the team. But when they got there the roster was still not up. So they shuffled back out to go to class.

When they finally made it to lunch they were so anxious that they hadn't listened very much in any of their classes. So they agreed to eat lunch quickly and go check the bulletin board again. When they got there they saw a new bit of parchment hanging in the middle. Lee looked at Teddy, "you look. I'm too nervous."

Teddy swallowed, "I can't look either. Neil, look for us please. We can look for you when yours is posted if you want."

Neil shook his head at his best friends, "fine, I'll look. But you guys are big chickens you know."

"Yeah yeah, just tell us what it says."

"Don't be so impatient if you won't look for yourself Teddy."

Neil made his way to the board and looked up at the list. "It's the team roster."

"Well, did we make it?"

"Let me see. Chasers are Morgan Montgomery, Teddy Lupin –"

"Yes!"

"And Andrew Smith. I'm sorry Lee. You made the reserves though."

"Okay. I'm fine with that. The reserve team is fine. I'll still get to practice with the team so then next year maybe I'll make the real team. Especially since I think Andrew is a 7th year. So there will be an open position. This is good."

Teddy patted him on the back a couple times. "You sure you're okay with this?"

"Yeah. Perfectly fine. Happy even."

"Okay. Good. Let's go to class then."

When Lee and Teddy got to History of Magic Teddy got out another bit of parchment to write to Harry again. He knew he should be taking notes, but History of Magic was always so boring that most people tended to zone out anyways. At least if he was writing to Harry he looked like he was taking notes. This letter was much shorter than the first.

 _Harry,_

 _I made the team! And Lee is on the reserves. He says he's happy with that though so that's good. I can't wait to start practice. And for our first match. Will you and Ginny come? It's fine if you can't, just thought I'd ask._

 _Teddy_

Once classes were done for the day Teddy ran back up to the owlry to send his second letter. Moony wasn't there so he used a school owl to send this one. Which was probably for the best, Moony would not be happy about being sent all the way to Godric's Hollow twice. After that he made his way to the library to meet Neil and Lee to do homework.

* * *

That morning Harry was running late for work so he was still home when Teddy's first letter arrived. He went to the window, took the letter and got the owl a treat and some water. "Ginny! Teddy sent a letter."

"Do you think he's already found out about quidditch?"

"Let's read it before I leave for work then. Just in case."

Harry opened the letter and read it aloud to Ginny.

"He's nervous. He woke up early like that last year on the first day of school."

Harry looked at Ginny, "he did?"

"Yes. I was already up because I was nervous for him. So I handled it while you were still asleep."

"Oh well, good. Glad you were nervous too then." Harry grinned at her and Ginny shook her head, "glad my being nervous meant you got a little more sleep."

"I've got to run. I'm really late." He gave her a quick kiss, "I'll see you tonight."

"Have a good day."

"You too."

The second owl came while Harry was still at work and Ginny was picking the children up from the burrow. She had had to work later than she normally does so she asked her mum to pick James up from school and Al and Lily up from daycare. Of course Molly agreed, she always jumped at any chance she got to spend time with her grandchildren. So when Ginny got there to pick them up it took a while to actually get them into the fireplace so they could floo home. When they finally made it home Ginny found the owl perched on the windowsill. She took the letter and gave the owl a treat and some water. Once the owl was satisfied it left. Ginny looked at the letter then and recognized the handwriting as Teddy's. She was sure that if he was sending two letters in one day this one had to say whether he made the team or not. She desperately wanted to read it, but she knew she had to wait for Harry. So she started getting dinner ready and helped James with his homework, which he had not finished at the Burrow like he was supposed to. By the time Harry finally got home dinner was ready, James' homework was done and Ginny was anxious to read Teddy's letter.

"Harry. Teddy wrote again. I haven't opened it yet, been waiting for you."

"Well go on, open it."

Ginny opened the letter and read it to Harry.

"Yes! I knew he could do it. Takes after me after all."

"After you? What about me? I played quidditch too. Could've gone pro too if I'd wanted to."

"Yes dear you could have. But you were a seeker. I was a chaser. And that is what position Teddy plays. So he takes after me."

Al looked up at his parents expectantly, "mumma, daddy. Is it time to eat yet?"

Ginny looked up to see the children sitting at the table waiting for them to sit down. "Yes sweety, sorry."

As they started to eat dinner James looked to his mum, "so Teddy made the quidditch team?"

"Yes he did. And we're very proud of him, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"We're going to write to him after dinner. Do you want us to tell him anything for you?" She looked at each of the children.

Lily smiled, "I drew him picture at granmum's."

"Okay we'll put it with the letter."

"Say hi from Al."

"Okay."

"Tell him I said congrats about quidditch," James added.

"We will."

After the kids were in bed Harry and Ginny went into the office to write back to Teddy. The letter said:

 _Teddy,_

 _Ginny and I are so proud of you. Congratulations on making the team, we know you'll be amazing. And of course we'll come to your first match. In fact, at least one of us will be at all of your matches. If neither of us is there feel free to assume we are being held against our will somewhere or in a coma. That is how much we both want to be at your games. And I'm sure Andromeda will want to come as well. You'll be lucky if the whole Weasley/Potter clan doesn't come, especially to that first game._

 _James says congrats. Al says hi. And Lily drew you a picture that we are putting in the envelope with this letter. Can't wait for your first match._

 _Love,_

 _Harry and Ginny_

They sent the letter in time for it to get there during breakfast the next day.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short. I just wanted it to be about finding out if they made the team or not. What comes next didn't seem to fit in the same chapter.


	8. Chapter 8: Quidditch

The Story of Teddy Lupin

A/N: I put the wrong name for Percy's wife. So I fixed it and posted it again. Sorry. It's supposed to be Audrey.

* * *

Chapter 8: Quidditch

Quidditch practice started the next week for everyone (Neil had made the team too). So Monday after classes Teddy and Lee made their way down to the quidditch pitch. Neil wanted to come watch but none of them thought that was a good idea. Teddy and Neil both played to win and since they were on different teams they didn't want to do anything that could cause problems in their friendship. They had discussed it last Tuesday after Neil found out he made the team.

They were in the library trying to do homework when Lee looked up at them. "You don't think us being on different teams will cause problems do you?"

"No way."

Neil nodded before adding, "maybe we shouldn't watch each other's practices though."

"Why?" Teddy asked.

"Well, can you honestly say you wouldn't be tempted to use something you saw in my practice? Because even though you guys are my best mates I play to win and if it was a close game I may use something I noticed in your practice. Or if Connor found out I watched your practice he would be asking me to tell him about it. And I wouldn't want to but if I didn't he probably wouldn't react well to that."

"Yeah I guess you're right. I'm competitive too so I can imagine how it would be if I watched your practice."

Lee looked at them both again, "so we won't watch the other team's practice. I think we also need to talk about what happens if the other team wins."

"We'll be happy for the winners. Right?" Neil asked.

Teddy nodded, "yeah. I mean it's understandable to be bit upset about your team losing, but if your best mate wins you have to be happy for him too. So if Ravenclaw beats us we'll be happy for you and is Hufflepuff wins you'll be happy for us."

"No rubbing it in each other's faces though," Neil added quickly.

"Course not," agreed Lee.

With that settled they went back to their homework.

So Teddy and Lee went to their first quidditch practice. Lee got to practice a little bit. He did the warm ups with the team and he got to practice making passes and taking shots at the goal. But when they worked on flying formations for the chasers he mainly just watched. But he still loved every minute of it. When they were done they met Neil for supper.

The next day was Neil's first quidditch practice. He was just as excited as Lee and Teddy had been the day before, and not just because of quidditch. Sophie had made the team as well and he was happy to now have an excuse to talk to her. Though when he got to the quidditch pitch practice started right away. They worked on everything individually before bringing it back to working on it as a whole.

When practice was over he ran to catch up with Sophie. "Hey Sophie."

She glanced at him over her shoulder, "oh hi."

"You were great today."

"Thanks."

"So, uh, are you going to the Great Hall?"

"No."

"Common room?"

"Yeah."

"You're not gonna eat supper?"

"Maybe later. You ask a lot of questions."

"Sorry. Just trying to make friends with my new teammates."

Sophie sighed and then turned in the direction of the Ravenclaw dormitory after entering the castle.

"I'll see you at our next practice then."

She half-heartedly raised a hand in the air as way of acknowledgement that he said something.

Neil turned and made his way into the Great hall to join Lee and Teddy. He immediately started telling them about Sophie and their conversation, making it sound much better than it really was.

After that they had to make a new routine. With quidditch practice happening pretty much every other day for all the teams they didn't have as much time to do homework together. So they had breakfast and lunch together and then a quick supper before they went to the library for a couple of hours to finish homework. But once they did this for a week or so they got used to it.

The first quidditch match was in October. It was between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. So Teddy and Lee wore blue and cheered Neil and his team on. And of course Neil's parents were there, both wearing every Ravenclaw thing they could get their hands on (sweaters, hats, scarves, buttons, etc.). Teddy thought it was great, especially since his parents had both been in Gryffindor when they were at Hogwarts. In the end Ravenclaw won. It was a close game and it lasted several hours before Ravenclaw's seeker, 4th year Bethany Combs, finally caught the snitch.

After the game Lee and Teddy joined Neil in the Ravenclaw common room to celebrate their victory. The party went on well past curfew, but Teddy hadn't thought to bring the invisibility cloak with them so they just slept in the common room. It wasn't bad, they just made sure to get up early enough to go back to their dormitory to get ready for the day. But when they got there a Hufflepuff prefect saw them coming in and stopped them. "Where are you two coming from?"

"Nowhere."

"So you aren't coming back just now? You weren't out all night some how?"

Lee stammered, "er, well."

"Five points each from Hufflepuff."

Teddy's jaw dropped, "what? You're a Hufflepuff. It hurts you to take points from us. Why would you do it?"

"Because I am a prefect and must uphold the rules even if it hurts me too."

"It's not like we were roaming the halls or something. We were in the Ravenclaw common room celebrating their win. When everyone started going to bed we noticed it was past curfew so we slept there. How is that bad?"

"Curfew means in your dormitory. Not someone else's. So five points each from Hufflepuff. And I suggest you don't let it happen again."

With that last comment she left the common room. Teddy and Lee stared after her for a moment before Teddy groaned, "I can't believe her. That is so dumb. I bet the teachers wouldn't actually care. But oh no, she's a prefect so she has to make herself seem powerful. Even if it does hurt her own house."

"Well, if you really wanted to know what teachers would think about it you could ask Professor Longbottom."

"You're not bothered by this?"

"Well yeah. But there's nothing we can do about it."

"Fine. I'm gonna go get ready."

Lee sighed, "okay. Me too."

That day when Teddy had a short break between classes he found Neville in one of the greenhouses. "Neville, er, Professor, can I ask you about something?"

"Sure Teddy, come in."

Teddy walked up to where Neville had set up a small desk and sat down across from him. "Hypothetically, if a student were to stay the night in a different dormitory would they get in trouble?"

"Well, technically curfew does mean you're supposed to be in your dormitory, not someone else's. But I don't think any of the teachers would actually care. Why?"

"Well, Lee and I went to Ravenclaw after the game and ended up staying past curfew so we slept in their common room. We got up this morning when we were allowed to be out again and went back to our dormitory. When we got there a prefect saw us coming in and took five points each from Hufflepuff for breaking curfew. How is that fair?"

"It does seem a bit harsh, but technically she's not wrong. Curfew means being in your dormitory. And you weren't. I don't think you did anything wrong, but she didn't do anything wrong either. Sorry Teddy."

"It's fine. I just had to ask."

"Okay. How's everything else going so far this year Teddy? Any problems with Greengrass?"

"Everything's fine. I never realized how busy I would be now that I have quidditch. But its so much fun. I'm so glad I made the team."

"Congrats on that. I'll be cheering you on next week during your game against Slytherin."

"Thanks. Well I guess I should get going." Teddy stood and started toward the door.

"Teddy. You didn't answer my question about William Greengrass."

Teddy stopped and turned half way back around and shrugged. "He's never gonna be my best mate. But we're fine."

"You sure? I've heard some things."

"He barks at me some and he's made a couple jokes. But it's fine. Really, it doesn't bother me. And please don't do anything about it. You saw last year how that just makes things worse."

"Okay, I wont say anything to him. But I've got my eye on him. And I won't let him escalate either. It's my job as a teacher to protect you guys. Especially you. You're one of my best mates' sons. So of course I'm going to look out for you."

"Thanks Neville."

"You're welcome Teddy. Now go on before you're late for class."

Teddy turned and left then smiling as he did. He may not have gotten the answer he wanted, but he liked talking to Neville. And it always made him happy when someone referred to him as Harry's son. Even if he didn't call him dad he still thought of Harry as his dad. So he went about the rest of his day in a good mood.

A week later and it was his turn down on the quidditch pitch. He really hoped they won since Harry, Ginny, his Gran, and most of the Weasley family was there to watch him. Harry and Ginny got there early enough to have breakfast with him. Which was a little embarrassing, but he was glad they did it anyways. He looked at Ginny sitting across from him, "any last minute tips?"

"Just do your best. You've been practicing so you're ready. But don't let that make you cocky. You'll almost always mess up if you get cocky."

"Okay thanks."

After that they all made their way down to the quidditch pitch. After Allison gave a pep talk in the locker room they followed her out onto the field. While Madam Hooch was stating the rules and having the team captains shake hands Teddy was scanning the crowd. He spotted Harry and Ginny right away, and then noticed that they were surrounded by quite a few red heads. Teddy gulped. Then he shook his head as he kicked off the ground. He couldn't let this distract him.

Several hours later the Hufflepuff team had crushed the Slytherin team. Teddy landed in a huddle with his team, all of them cheering and screaming excited about the win. When they saw people making their way down to them though they broke off a bit to talk to their friends and family. Teddy had just started to look for Harry and Ginny when he saw a flash of blonde hair and then was almost knocked over by the force of the small blonde throwing herself at him to hug him. He realized then that it was Victoire. He didn't know she had been at the game, but he was glad she was. The rest of the Weasleys and Potters had reached them by now and he was soon engulfed in many hugs. Bill was there with Victoire, Charlie, Percy, George and Angelina, Ron and Hermione, Harry and Ginny, Arthur and Molly, and Andromeda. When Teddy had made it threw all the hugs and got back to Ginny he looked up at her and said, "where are all the kids?"

Fleur has Dominique, Louis, Fred, and Roxanne. Audrey has Molly, James, Al, Lily, Rose, and Hugo. James was actually quite upset that he didn't get to come with us. But we wanted to be able to focus on you so we told him none of the other kids were coming and that we would bring him next time."

"What do you think he'll do when he finds out Victoire came?"

"Let's just hope he doesn't."

They talked to Lee's parents as well who had come in case he got to play and Victoire talked with Neil, Lee and Teddy while the adults talked. When they decided it was finally time to leave Victoire begged to stay long enough to eat supper with Teddy. But Bill said they had to get back home and that she would be here for real soon enough. So she gave Teddy one last hug and sulked off with her dad.

After everyone was gone Lee, Teddy, and Neil went up to the Hufflepuff common room to join the party they were having there. it was just as fun as the one Ravenclaw had the week before, but Neil made sure to leave enough time before curfew to make it back to his dormitory because of what had happened to Teddy and Lee. But other than that it had been a good day. They all went to bed happy.


	9. Chapter 9: The First Fight

The Story of Teddy Lupin

Chapter 9: The First Fight

As the weeks went by the boys continued with their routine; breakfast, class, lunch, class, quidditch class, dinner, homework in the library, bed. The only time this changed was when there was a quidditch match. The third match of the season was in November between Slytherin and Gryffindor. The boys were rooting for Gryffindor since Neil's parents, Harry, and Ginny had been in Gryffindor. Teddy only felt a little bad picking Gryffindor over Slytherin because his Gran had been in Slytherin. She didn't care much about quidditch, just supporting Teddy when he played, so she wouldn't mind that he cheered on Gryffindor. And Lee's mum had been in Ravenclaw, so he just cheered for Gryffindor this time because Teddy and Neil were. This game didn't last nearly as long as Teddy's or Neil's had before the Gryffindor seeker caught the snitch. It was actually a little disappointing how short it had been.

That got them through to December with only one last quidditch match before the holiday. Unfortunately this game was between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. They knew this would happen eventually, but it still didn't make it easy. The game was set for the last week of the term so they would be done with classes before the game and would be going home a day or two later on the train. Unless parents that came to the game took them home with them that night.

The day before the game the boys were in the library doing homework as usual when Lee cleared his throat, "so tomorrow's game?"

Teddy didn't even look up when he said, "What about it?"

"Just, is it gonna be awkward afterward?"

Neil shook his head, "nah, we talked about it remember?"

"Yeah, but its different talking about it and actually experiencing it."

"Well yeah. But it'll be fine. You guys said you'd be good sports if you lost so it'll be fine."

Teddy looked up then, "what do you mean by that?"

"Just that you said you wouldn't be bothered by it if you lost to us so we'll be fine after tomorrow's game."

"It sounds like you think we're gonna lose."

"Well, I'm a great keeper. Barely let anyone score our first game. So tomorrow shouldn't be any different."

"Except tomorrow you'll be playing against me. And I made more goals than any of the other chasers during our first game. So who's to say we won't win?"

"My dad's a coach for a professional team. He's been writing to us with tips."

"So? That doesn't mean you're gonna win."

"Look, this conversation is getting us nowhere. We'll see who the better team is tomorrow."

"Yeah, I guess we will."

Lee, who had been watching the argument happen wishing he hadn't said anything, gulped at the look they were giving each other.

They both went back to doing their homework in silence. They didn't want to be mad at each other and storm off, but they were mad. So they just did their homework in silence until it was almost time for curfew. They gathered their things and left the library in silence only speaking when they got to the place where they went in different directions. Lee hesitated but managed to say, "night Neil, see you tomorrow."

"Night," Neil muttered before heading toward his dormitory.

Teddy mumbled "goodnight," in return.

Then Teddy and Lee continued to their dormitory in silence for a few minutes. When they were almost there Lee finally spoke, "Teddy?"

"Yeah?"  
"You okay?"

"Yep. Just thinking about how we've got to cream them tomorrow."

"Ugh, I wish I hadn't brought it up."

"I'm glad you did. Now we know how he really feels. He's so smug and full of himself."

"Well, you seem pretty sure we're gonna win too."

"I never would've said anything about it if he hadn't though. I didn't say anything bad until after he did."

"Yeah I guess you're right."

"I am. But now that he's gone there I guess I can too. We will win tomorrow."

Lee sighed, "okay".

With that they went into their dormitory and went straight to their dorm to go to bed.

The next morning when they went to breakfast they sat with their team. Lee couldn't help but notice that Neil was sitting with his team too. And while that alone wouldn't be weird (teams tended to sit together on game days) he didn't even look up when they came in. This did not sit well with Lee. He hoped Neil and Teddy would make up soon. When it was finally time to go down to the quidditch pitch Teddy was still mad. His mood didn't change until they left the changing rooms and saw Harry, Ginny, Ron, Victoire, and James in the stands.

He didn't have much time to focus on them though once the game started. Both teams were playing their hearts out. And Teddy noticed Neil hadn't exaggerated his skills as a keeper, he was having a harder time making goals than he had during the previous game. But it also seemed that Neil had underestimated Teddy's skills as a chaser. And the rest of the players were great too. Because of this the game was close and lasted for several hours.

It was a nail-biter for those in the stands as well. Harry kept running his hand threw his hair, Ginny kept leaning forward like she could somehow join the game if she leaned far enough while muttering things the chasers should do, and Ron's neck and ears were red (and not because of the cold). Victoire and James were nervous for Teddy too, Victoire was actually biting her nails, and James was jumping up and down.

Oliver and Alicia Wood were there too a few rows down. Oliver was shouting advice at the players (even though they couldn't hear him) and Alicia was wringing her hands.

This went on for several hours, it ended up being the longest game of the season. But in the end Hufflepuff won. Their seeker caught the snitch, but barely. Both seekers noticed the snitch at the same time and went for it. It was a race really. A hush fell over the crowd as if everyone was holding their breath while they watched them race toward the snitch. The Hufflepuff seeker got there a split second before the Ravenclaw seeker closing their fingers around it just as the Ravenclaw seeker was reaching for it.

The teams landed and their friends and family met them to congratulate or console them. Teddy was surrounded by his family that had come when he saw Neil skulk off with his parents. He extricated himself from the crowd and caught up with Neil. "Hey, good game. You really are a great keeper."

"Thanks. You're a great chaser too," he mumbled before walking off with his parents.

Teddy turned to Lee then, "well that didn't go very well."

Lee sighed, "I had hoped you guys would get over this soon. I guess that's not happening."

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

They went back to their families then to find they had started talking to each other. Teddy noticed that Ginny was holding Harry's hand very tightly, like she was afraid it would run away if she let go of it or something. He thought to himself that sometimes Ginny could be weird. But he ignored it and went back to talk with Victoire and James.

James was still jumping up and down, "Teddy! You were amazing! I can't wait to come to come to Hogwarts and play quidditch too."

"Thanks James. I'm sure you'll be great at it with Harry and Ginny as your parents."

"And you as a big brother. You'll be able to help me over the summer before I start at school."

"Sure thing buddy," he tossled James' hair a bit then turned his attention to Victoire. "Thanks for coming again."

"Of course Teddy. I wouldn't have missed it. Though dad couldn't take me so I wasn't sure I was going to get to come. Then I asked uncle Ron if he could take me since he was coming and he convinced dad to let me come with him. You were great."

"Thanks. It was a tough game."

"It looked it."

Lee was watching this conversation with a slight smile on his face trying not to laugh. It was so obvious they liked each other, he wondered when they would realize it.

Meanwhile, the adults were talking about the game too. Cho mostly listened only adding a few comments here and there. "Too bad Lee didn't get any playing time this game," Harry said.

"Yeah, I know he was hoping to play. He's okay with being on the reserves, but he would like to play some."

Ginny nodded, "I'm sure he'll get to play soon."

Ron looked around then, "Cho, where's your husband? He came to the first game didn't he?"

"Yes, he's a muggle though so he still doesn't really understand quidditch. He still doesn't understand a lot about magic to be honest. So he stayed home with Mae this time."

Harry looked at her for a moment, "he's a muggle? I had no idea."

"Yes. I met him right after the war. I needed a break from everything so I spent a lot of time in the muggle world. I didn't tell him at first that I was a witch, but when things started to get serious I knew I had to. He was okay with it. He thought a lot of the stuff we can do was cool. Now the novelty has worn off and he gets a bit queasy when I side-along him somewhere. He's still okay with everything, but there are a lot of things he still finds confusing."

"If he's a muggle, then why had Lee never watched tv before he came to the house last summer?" Ginny asked.

"Carl doesn't like to watch tv, and I never understood it, so we just listen to the wireless."

"Ah."

"Well, we should probably get going. Carl and Mae will be wondering where we are. Lee, ready to go?"

"Sure mum. Bye Teddy."

"See you Lee."

Lee walked away with his mum to collect his things before leaving for the holiday.

Harry put his arm around Teddy then, "so you leaving with us tonight?"

"Yeah sure."

"Great, let's go get your things then."

Victoire squealed a bit then said, "does this mean I get to go inside the castle?"

Ron shook his head, "sorry Vic, but I've got to get home. Hermione is probably ready to kill me for being gone so long. And your parents probably aren't too pleased at you being out this late either."

She sighed, "okay."

Teddy nudged her, "you'll be here for real next year Vic".

"Yeah I know."

"I'll see you Sunday at the Burrow, okay."

"Okay. Bye." She gave a small wave as she and Ron left.

The rest of them went up to the castle to get his things so they could leave.

James was amazed by the castle; all the paintings, the moving stairs, the Great Hall. He couldn't wait to start at Hogwarts. He didn't get to look around as much as we wanted because they left as soon as they got Teddy's things. but they did get to see the Hufflepuff common room, which James liked. Harry wanted to stop in and say hi to Professor McGonagall so they did get to go up to the headmistresses office. Teddy had never been in there before, though he thought that was probably a good thing. When they got to the top of the stairs Harry knocked.

"Come in."

Harry walked in followed by Teddy, James, and Ginny.

"Well, if it isn't the Potters. Aren't you missing a few kids?"

"They're with Molly and Arthur. We came up to see Teddy's game and I wanted to say hi before we left. I knew you'd still be working even at this hour."

"Well, you've been in this office and my former office enough to know haven't you Potter?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"You've got me there."

then they heard a slow slimy voice come from behind Professor McGonagall say, "Potter, I was trying to sleep. Keep it down."

"Good evening Professor Snape."

Teddy looked at the picture, "Snape? As in Severus Snape? Who Al is named after?"

"I see your godson takes after you Potter. Know any other Professor Snapes who were Headmasters Lupin?"

"Er, no sir. Sorry."

Then another voice joined, "Severus, I had hoped you might be nicer to Harry and his family when you found out what they had named their son. Albus Severus. It is quite an honor really Harry."

"Yes, an honor to have my name attached to the Potter name. Let us hope this little Potter can live up to his namesakes Albus." Severus sneered in Harry's direction.

Ginny stepped in then, "well we just wanted to say hi Professor. But we should really get going."

McGonagall nodded, "glad you stopped by. Next time maybe I shall meet you in the staff lounge instead of my office." She shot a look at Severus.

They said goodbye and then left. When they got home they decided they would go get Al and Lily the next morning. Ginny knew they would be asleep already and her parents had told them they could stay the night and it would be fine. So instead of going to the Burrow they just went upstairs, tucked the boys in (even though Teddy insisted he was too old to be tucked in) and then went to bed themselves.

Teddy lay in bed that night thinking about his fight with Neil. He decided he would write to Neil the next day to try and work things out. What a way to start the Christmas holiday, he thought to himself before drifting off to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10: Home For Christmas

The Story of Teddy Lupin

Chapter 10: Home For Christmas

The next morning Teddy woke to three little faces staring at him. At first waking up like this surprised him so that he often woke with a jolt, but James, Al, and Lily had taken to impatiently staring at him like this whenever he was home from school. They started it the previous Christmas, though then it was just James and Al. So he rubbed his eyes a bit to push away the tired feeling and sat up. "Hey guys. Whatcha doin?"

"Waitin for you ta wake up."

"Alright Al, I'm up."

James jumped in then, "come fly with us!"

"What about breakfast?"

"We already ate."

"But I haven't. And it's a bit cold outside isn't it?"

"We'll be okay. You flew in the cold last night."

"Yeah, because we had a game, I wouldn't have if it hadn't been for that though. Liable to get sick flyin around in the cold."

James grumbled, "you sound like mum."

"Sorry bud, but she's right."

Teddy got up then and followed the kids downstairs. When he got there he ran into Ginny in the kitchen. "Teddy, you want some breakfast, though its really almost time for lunch?"

"Is it really? Sorry I slept so late."

"Oh it's fine. We wanted to let you sleep. I'm sure you were exhausted after last night's game."

"Yeah I was. Thanks."

"How about a light breakfast since it is close to lunch?"

"Yeah okay."

"I'll fix you something up real quick then."

"Thanks." Teddy sat at the kitchen table while Ginny fixed him some porridge. She also set a cup of hot chocolate in front of him. That was one thing everyone says he got from his dad, the love of chocolate. When the porridge was done Ginny sat down at the table with him.

"You played great last night."

"Thanks. Thanks for coming again."

"Wouldn't have missed it for the world. You get to talk to Lee and Neil much after the game?"

"A little."

"Well, I guess you got to talk with Lee a bit more than Neil since we were talking to Cho. Oliver and Alicia seemed to run out of there."

Teddy shrugged and continued eating.

"Is something wrong?"

"Neil and I had a fight."

"What about?"  
"The quidditch game."

"Ah. Because you're on different teams?"

"Yeah."

Ginny just looked at Teddy for a moment, hoping he would elaborate on his own.

"He thought his team was better and would win. Lee was worried how we would all react after the game and Neil said that we had said we would be good sports if we lost so we'd be fine. I asked him what that meant and he said that that they were a good team. So then I started defending my team too. Lee hated it. Then we let it go and finished our homework, but we were both still mad even when the game started. I tried to talk to him after the game. Told him good game and that he was right he was a great keeper. All he said was thanks. I'm pretty sure he's still mad."

"I'm sorry sweetie. It's always hard to fight with your friends. But I'm sure you guys will make up soon. Just remember that you said you'd be a good sport whether you won or lost okay. Maybe don't bring the game up again. It could look like you were rubbing it in or something."

"Believe me I have no intention of mentioning the game. I may write to him today. Or maybe tomorrow."

"I think that's a good idea Teddy." She stood and went to leave the kitchen, but on her way out she bent and kissed him on the top of his head. Then went into the living room to check on the kids.

Teddy thought about what he would say to Neil when he wrote him. He hoped he wouldn't still be mad.

Later that day after everyone had lunch Teddy played a game with James and Al while Lily took a nap. Al ended up falling asleep during the game for a little bit and James teased him about it when he woke up. This. This down time with his brothers and sister is what Teddy missed while he was at Hogwarts. Though he would never actually admit that to anyone. Then later Harry came home from work and the kids pretty much attacked him as soon as he walked through the door. It had been a long time since Teddy had thrown himself at Harry like that. Harry missed it, but he knew Teddy was growing up and he'd just have to be okay with that.

That night after dinner Teddy helped put the kids to bed, Lily wanted him to read to her instead of Harry or Ginny. But once they were all in bed he went to his room too to write to Neil. He sat at his desk with a blank bit of parchment in front of him for over an hour before he finally came up with something to write. This is what he wrote:

 _Neil,_

 _I'm sorry about our fight. I got carried away. I shouldn't have said the things I said. You really are a great keeper. I didn't think I was ever gonna make a goal last night. But I'm hoping we can put this fight and this game behind us. I'm not very good at this so I don't really know what else to say. So I guess I'll end with, if I don't see you/talk to you again before Christmas I hope you have a great holiday._

 _See you soon,_

 _Teddy_

After Teddy sent Moony to Neil's house with his letter he went to bed. He knew he wouldn't get to sleep in much more during the holiday. And the next morning he found he was right to think that, Ginny woke him up bright and early. When he dragged himself downstairs Ginny was rushing around the kitchen getting breakfast on the table. "Teddy, good you're up. I need to run to the profit for a bit. I'm taking you all to the Burrow until I'm done. I should be back by lunch though. Would you mind helping mum with the kids, they can be a bit of a handful. Not that she can't handle them herself, she did raise seven kids after all."

"Of course I'll help. And I'll even make sure not to mention the fact that I'm helping."

Ginny patted his cheek, "good boy."

After a quick breakfast Teddy flooed over with James while Ginny took Al and Lily. It was really easier to side-along the children than to floo with them, but with four underage kids to take it was faster to use the floo network. So once they had all come out into the living room at the Burrow Ginny gave them all a quick kiss and then stepped back into the fire place to floo to the Profit. Molly came in from the kitchen then, "did Ginny leave already?"

Teddy was helping Lily get some toys out while he answered, "yeah. She was in a bit of a hurry this morning. I think she might have been running late."

"Ah, well, that's okay. The five of us will have a wonderful morning together and Ginny can just join in when she gets back."

"She said she should be back by lunch."

"Good. I'll have something fixed for us when she gets here and we can all eat together before you go back home. Until then, let's have some fun. What do we want to do today?"

James jumped up then, "can we go outside and fly on our brooms?!"

"I don't know, its pretty cold buddy. How about we build a snowman instead?"

Al jumped in then, "Okay!"

James and Al got their coats back on and Teddy and Molly helped them with their scarves, gloves, and hats. Molly turned to Lily then, "how about we have a tea party in here by the fire?"

Lily picked up the toy teapot and smiled, "okay".

So Molly helped Lily get the tea party set up while Teddy followed the boys outside buttoning his coat as he went.

Once outside Teddy found a level area to build the snowman on and scooped up some snow to start the bottom ball. He had James and Al roll it around until they either couldn't push it for themselves anymore or were satisfied with its size (of course with the first one they wanted it huge and so Teddy had to help them push it a little). Then they did the same for the second ball (Teddy had to convince them to stop so that it would actually be smaller than the bottom ball). And Teddy made the head himself (he knew it would be way too big otherwise). Once he put the head on he sent James and Al in search of 5 little stones to use as the buttons and the eyes while he got the sticks for the arms. Then he snuck a carrot out of the kitchen to use as a nose (James and Al thought he was so funny when he was sneaking around trying not to let Molly catch him. And they found an old hat and scarf in the broom shed too. All the while Molly and Lily sat having their tea party. Molly enjoyed this time with her granddaughter because she knew it would only be a matter of time before Lily would rather be outside with the boys. She was just like Ginny, who spent her whole childhood running along after her brothers getting into everything they did. So this is how the morning went. The boys only came in when Molly had to start lunch. She convinced them to help her in the kitchen, and they actually seemed to enjoy doing so.

So by the time Ginny came spinning into the fire place at a little after 12pm lunch was ready and Molly was just putting it on the table. "Mmm, mum this smells amazing."

"Thank you Ginny. I thought you all could eat lunch here before you went home."

"Thanks." She sat down at the table. "I'm exhausted. We had a major problem at the Profit. Or at least everyone was making it out to be major."

"I'm sorry dear. Here have some stew."

Molly dished food into everyone's plates/bowls and then served herself and sat down. As they ate Ginny looked around the table, "what did you all do today?"

Jamse tried to talk around his mouthful of food to answer but couldn't be understood so Al answered, "me and James and Teddy made a snowman!"

James finally swallowed and added, "and it's huge! You should see it mum!"

"Well it sounds like you've had a fun morning. And what did you do miss Lily?"

"We had tea party!"

"You did? Well, that must have been fun, Grandmum's tea parties are the best."

Lily nodded her head vigorously in agreement.

Molly added, "and after that the kids helped me get lunch ready."

Ginny raised her eyebrows, "really?"

"Yes. They did a really good job. And they seemed to enjoy it."

"Good. Maybe I'll be able to wrangle them into helping me at home."

"It's worth a try."

Once they were done eating Ginny gathered the kids' things and ushered them into the living room to floo home. Molly hugged and kissed them all goodbye and Ginny thanked her again for watching them and for lunch before they finally left. When they got home she put Lily down for a nap while James and Al played a game and Teddy did some of his homework.

Later that evening when Harry got home from work Teddy came running down the stairs to catch him before he got caught up in anything. He really wanted Harry to read over his Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. It was the only thing he had left and was struggling with it. It was a good thing they didn't get much homework over the Christmas holiday. He had to stop short at the bottom of the stairs though to keep from tripping over Lily, which caused him to trip anyways and fall flat on his face. At least he managed to miss hitting Lily. Harry came running over to help him up, "Teddy! Are you alright?"

Harry pulled him to his feet.

"Yeah I'm fine. I didn't hit Lily did i?"

"No she's fine."

"Good."

"Here sit down. You're bleeding."

Ginny came rushing in then "Who's bleeding?!"

"Teddy tripped at the bottom of the stairs. It's his nose. Can you tell if it's broken?"

She came over and tilted his face up to see it better. "I don't think it is, just bleeding."

"Good. That's easier and less painful to take care of."

Harry made some small hard strip appear then and put it on the bridge of Teddy's nose pinching it closed. "That'll stop the bleeding soon. You'll just have to breath through your mouth for a bit."

"Thanks Harry."

"What were you rushing down here for anyways?"

"Well I wanted to catch you before you got into anything. I just finished my DADA essay and I was hoping you'd read it for me."

"Of course. If you give it to me know I should be done by the time your nose stops bleeding."

Teddy handed the parchment then and noticed there were a few drops of blood on it. " Any chance you could get the blood off it too please?"

"Sure. I'll be back in a bit."

Harry went into his office with the essay then and Ginny brought Teddy some ice for his nose. He laid his head back on the couch and put the ice on his nose. it was really starting to hurt. By the time supper was ready Harry had finished reading Teddy's essay (only making a few suggestions) and Teddy's nose had stopped bleeding.

After supper Teddy finished his essay and put it away so he didn't lose it before he went back to school. Then he lay down on his bed. It was a bit early to go to bed, but he was starting to wonder why Neil hadn't written him back yet and if he would soon. He really didn't want him to be mad still. He fell asleep thinking about whether Neil was still mad or not.

The next day he went to his Gran's house, where he would stay until Christmas morning. It was the same every year; he woke up at his Gran's and they opened their presents, then apparated to Harry's to open presents with James, Al, and Lily, then went with them to the Burrow for lunch and their new sweater from Grandmum Molly. He liked spending a few quite days with his Gran before he went back to school. And he was pretty sure Aunt Narcissa was coming over on Christmas Eve sometime. He hoped she would bring Scorpius.

* * *

On Christmas Eve Andromeda made dinner for her, Teddy, Narcissa, Draco, Astoria, and Scorpius. Teddy was excited to see them again. He hoped Draco would warm up to them a bit more this time too. When they arrived Teddy was setting the table so Andromeda let them in. Narcissa hugged Andromeda when they came in and gave her a present, she gave her Teddy's present too. Andromeda set them under the tree and gave Narcissa her present too. She had also gotten something for Draco, Astoria, and Scorpius which she gave to Narcissa. Then she led them into the kitchen and they all sat down.

Dinner was nice. Narcissa and Andromeda talked non-stop it seemed and Astoria seemed to fit into most of their conversations easily. This, unfortunately, left Teddy and Draco to talk to each other. And Scorpius of course, but they either all three had to talk or push the other out and only talk to Scorpius. This kept happening all through dinner though. Until finally during dessert Astoria said something that got them both talking. By the time they left Scorpius had fallen asleep and Draco and Teddy had ended up talking for almost an hour straight without anyone else helping the conversation along. Teddy had no idea Draco knew so much about brooms. It was great.

The next morning everything went as usual. By the time they got to the Burrow Teddy was already tired. But he got his sweater on for the family picture they always took in them and then had lunch. After lunch all the kids went outside to have a snowball fight. They always split up into two teams. Teddy and Victoire were team captains. And they made a point to make sure the teams were evenly matched based on age. Then they would build forts and make snowballs in the allotted prep time they had before the fight started. No one really won. There wasn't really a clear-cut way to determine a winner. This was pretty much the only thing they played that didn't end with a winner. They just all came in tired and soaked. But it was fun.

* * *

A few days later Harry took Teddy to Kings Cross Station to get the train back to Hogwarts. When he got on he found Neil and Lee and together they found an empty compartment. Once inside Lee broke the ice by thanking each of them for the presents and the others followed suit. This led to them talking about what they had gotten and what they had done over the break. In no time it was like nothing had ever happened. They were back to normal. Which they were all very happy about.

* * *

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. It was hard to write for some reason. Hopefully I'll get the next one posted faster. Thanks for sticking with me.


	11. Chapter 11: Getting Back Into the Swing

The Story of Teddy Lupin

Chapter 11: Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

Even though the boys made up on the train they still weren't completely back to normal. They never mentioned the game and rarely talked about quidditch when it came to their teams or Neil's dad's team. Which didn't leave them much to talk about quidditch wise. And with there only being two more games left that school year the boys were constantly practicing. So this left them with homework to discuss and not much else. This went on until Ravenclaw's game against Slytherin in February. The day before the game they were doing homework in the library like always when Teddy looked up and put his quill down. After a minute the others noticed he wasn't working anymore. Lee nudged him, "what's up?"

"Good luck tomorrow Neil. Not that you need it. The Slytherin chasers will be lucky if they make a single goal. But still, good luck." With that he picked his quill up and continued his homework. Lee looked between them worried about Neil's response. He was grateful when Neil said, "thanks Teddy," and smiled before continuing his own work. This seemed to break the rest of the tension.

The next morning Teddy and Lee were the first ones down to the quidditch pitch. And they had managed to get their hands on a couple Ravenclaw scarves to show their support. They cheered on Neil and his team with the rest of the Ravenclaws. The Gryffindors were mostly cheering on Slytherin since Ravenclaw had beat them. It was a short game. When the Slytherin chasers managed to get the quaffle they still couldn't get it past Neil. And Ravenclaw's seeker was almost as good as Harry had been when he was in school. So he caught the snitch about 30 minutes into the game.

After the game everyone went back to the Ravenclaw common room to celebrate their win (and Teddy and Lee joined them like last time). This time though Teddy and Lee made it back to their common room before curfew. When they were getting in their beds that night Lee whispered, "if we beat Gryffindor we win the House Cup."

"Yeah."

"If we lose by 50 points Ravenclaw wins the House Cup."

"I know."

"Do you think Neil knows?"

"Yep."

"Is this gonna cause problems again?"

"I hope not."

"Me too."

They didn't say anything else about it that night, just tried to go to sleep.

* * *

The next weekend they went to see Hagrid. When they got there Jr. jumped on them and licked them all over while Hagrid made tea. Once they all sat down at the table Jr. settled himfels next to Teddy with his head in Teddy's lap. They told Hagrid all about school and quidditch. And Hagrid said he had seen Harry in Hogsmeade recently. "Saw him last week I think it was. Yeh. He was walkin down the street and stopped ter say hi. Said he was meetin George and Ron at a building they was lookin at fer their business."

Teddy nodded, "yeah, Harry said something about how George was wanting to open a Weasley's Wizard Weezes store in Hogsmeade. I didn't know they had found a place though."

"Guess so. I though Ron was an auror though?"

"He is. But after the war he helped George with the store. Stayed on for a few years before he went to work with Harry. He's still a partner though. Maybe 20% owner. Like Harry."

"Ah. Well I invited him to come by fer tea after. Said ter bring Ron and George and that I'd send you an owl ter join us. But he had ter get back ter work right after. Said he'd come by early fer your next quidditch game and have tea with me though."

"Cool."

They stayed for a bit longer before heading back up to the school to finish their homework.

* * *

March came and went pretty quickly and uneventfully. And with the start of April came somewhat warmer weather. Everyone longed to be outside instead of in class, making quidditch practice for Teddy and Lee even more enjoyable than it already was. It also caused Neil to come out and watch their practice since it was an excuse to be outside instead of in the stuffy library. Teddy and Lee were happy to have him there since the awkwardness had finally fully passed (and they didn't have to worry about Neil using anything he saw to his advantage).

So at the last practice of the season Neil went down with Teddy and Lee and sat in the stands doing "homework". Really looking like he was doing homework because he needed to be, but he was too enthralled by the practice going on. He watched the entire two hour practice without getting a single bit of homework done. When the team landed and filed back into the locker room he gathered his things and went to meet them.

As they were walking back up to the castle Neil blurted, "you guys were doing great out there. If you play like that against Gryffindor you'll definitely win." All of this was said to his shoes.

Teddy grinned and said "thanks mate".

"And you've really improved Lee. You're just as good as the rest of the chasers for sure, if not better."

"Thanks Neil."

They walked the rest of the way to the library in silence. Once there they pulled out their homework and got straight to work. They worked hard for about ten minutes before breaking into discussion about quidditch. It was like Neil's compliments had broken through the recent barrier. It was good for their friendship, but bad for their studies. Teddy was extremely glad Hermione had already sent him a study schedule for this years exams.

* * *

The second week of April brought the final quidditch game of the year. Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff. Neil was the only Ravenclaw actually cheering for Hufflepuff. It was one thing to hope his team beat Hufflepuff (that was only natural), but to hope Gryffindor won (even if it meant his house could win the Quidditch Cup) was just mean. He sincerely hoped his best friends played well.

Harry, Ginny, James, Al, Andromeda, Bill, Victoire, Charlie, Percy, George, Angelina, Ron, Hermione, Molly and Arthur all came to watch Teddy in his final match of the season. Cho, Carl, and Mae were also there hoping to see Lee play.

As the match started everyone was excited. It was a slow game though because the teams were pretty evenly matched. When it came to games like this it really just came down to which Seeker saw the snitch first. Harry and Charlie knew this all too well from their time as seekers. Charlie ended up watching for the snitch more than he watched the actual game, but Harry made himself focus on Teddy. Ginny was in a right state as well, biting her nails, staring daggers at the chasers, pacing, muttering suggestions under her breath. George noticed this and decided to try to deflect the tension seeing as the game had only be going on for about 30 minutes so far.

"Seems kind of weird to be wearing yellow and cheering for Hufflepuff after all those years of hoping to beat them doesn't it?"

Ginny glanced at him before saying, "the day Teddy became a Hufflepuff we all became Hufflepuffs. When Fred and Roxanne get sorted you'll be cheering for whichever house they end up in too. Even if it's not Gryffindor."

"I know that's why we're doing it Gin, I was just saying it seems a bit odd is all. Especially since they're playing against Gryffindor. But mainly I was trying to make you calm down and stop looking like a crazy woman that talks to herself."

"Well, I would yell the suggestions to them if I thought they could hear me."

"You could always magnify your voice."

"McGonagall told me she would throw me out herself if she heard my voice being projected across the pitch shouting instructions," Ginny mumbled.

This of course caused George to burst into a fit of laughter. Ginny in turn glared at him and returned to her pacing.

The score went back and forth for two hours before the seekers ever made a move. Then suddenly the Gryffindor Seeker shot off after something. Charlie pointed the snitch out to Harry, to their dismay the kid seemed to have actually seen it. He was so focused on the snitch though that he didn't notice he was flying straight towards Hufflepuff Chaser Morgan Montgomery. She tried to swerve out of the way at the last second but it was too late. The two collided midair and while the seeker barely managed to stay on his broom, Morgan didn't. She had had possession of the quaffle and therefore didn't have both hands on her broom. This combined with the force of hitting the other player made her loose what little grip she had and she fell from her broom. Her teammates tried to catch her but none of them were close enough or fast enough. Thankfully Professor McGonagall was able to slow her down so much that it was like she was gently laid on the ground like a small child being put to bed. The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors all landed around her and Professor McGonagall, Neville, and Madam Pomfrey rushed onto the pitch. After a few moments Madam Pomfrey was able to wake her and assess her injuries. She would be fine, but she could not play the rest of the game and needed to be taken to the hospital wing.

Things were not looking good for the Hufflepuffs, but in the chaos the snitch had zoomed off and neither seeker could see it. This also meant Lee was going to play the rest of the game. They got a 5 minute break to ready themselves and then they had to be back up in the air. It took the entire 5 minutes for Teddy to calm Lee down enough so he could actually get on his broom. Once they were in the air and playing though Lee really started to get into the game. After he scored his first goal his confidence soared, making him play so much better.

The game went on for another hour before the snitch reappeared. This time being seen first by the Hufflepuff Seeker, Ava Walsh. She shot off after it weaving through the other players like a pro. Harry and Charlie were impressed. Especially when she dove after the snitch that was now so low you could reach it while standing on the pitch. She managed to pull up just in the nick of time and grab the snitch all in one fluid movement. The crowd cheered and the team landed around her hugging and screaming. Professor McGonagall made her way onto the pitch to present the Quidditch Cup. Allison took it with a huge smile on her face and held it high in the air. Then the friends and families started to swarm them, pulling each member of the team into tight hugs and clapping them on their backs.

When Harry, Ginny and the rest of the family finally made it to Teddy he had already been congratulated what seemed like a hundred times. But that didn't make him any less happy to see his family. Harry was the first one to reach him and he wrapped Teddy into a bone-crushing hug, followed by a hug and kiss on his head from Ginny and then his Gran. The rest of the Weaslys hugged him or patted him on the back. Until Molly got to him anyways. She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. As much as he thought it was embarrassing for people to see him getting kissed when he was just a few days shy of 13, he knew it was just something mums and grandmums did. And besides, when he looked around to see if anyone had seen he saw Lee's mum giving him a kiss Andrew Smith's mum kissing him. And if Andrew Smith, a 7th year, can be kissed by his mum in public then Teddy could handle getting kissed by Molly, Ginny, and his Gran.

When things started to finally die down the Weasleys started to leave. Molly and Arthur took James and Al with them since they were going to have to go pick Lily up when they left anyways. This left Harry, Ginny, and Andromeda to walk back up to the school with Teddy before he went to celebrate with his house. While they were walking Harry put his arm around Teddy and said, "Gin and I want to come up and see you next week on your birthday. Would you be okay with that?"

"Yeah, sure. When?"

Ginny looked his way, "well, we thought we could come up after your last class and stay through supper."

"Okay. Cool. You too Gran?"

"I thought I would if you didn't mind."

"Of course not."

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Teddy spoke again.

"So, does this mean you'll bring me a cake?"

The three adults laughed before Andromeda answered, "Of course Teddy. What kind do you want this year?"

"Hmm. How about chocolate with yellow icing?"

"I think I can handle that."

"Thanks Gran."

The rest of their walk was spent chatting about the game. When they got to the castle they decided to use the fireplace in the staff lounge to floo to the Burrow. They asked Minerva and she said yes of course. So they told Teddy again how proud they were of him and told him goodnight before going into the lounge. Teddy then went to his dormitory to join his team in celebrating their win.

* * *

A/N: I know its been a long time since I posted a new chapter. Sorry. I started a new job and it has taken me a while to get used to the new schedule. I'm hoping that now I'll be able to start posting regularly again though. Hope everyone likes the new chapter.


	12. Chapter 12: Becoming a Teenager

A/N: I know it has been a really long time since I posted a new chapter, so I understand if not many people read this one. But I hope that those that do read it enjoy it. Thank you for letting me continue the story and for sticking with me even though it has been a while.

The Story Of Teddy Lupin

Chapter 12: Becoming a Teenager

the morning of Monday, April 18, 2011 found Teddy laying in his bed waiting until a reasonable hour to actually get up. He was always excited on his birthday and was usually the first up, but now that he was officially a teenager he thought he should start acting like one. So he was trying to sleep in, but he just couldn't make himself do it. Instead he got up and got ready for class. Just as he was getting ready to head downstairs to the common room there was a tap on the dormitory window. When he looked over he saw Harry's owl, a tan owl named Prongs (he had considered getting a white owl like the one he'd had in school, but decided that would be too weird). Teddy went to the window and let Prongs in. The owl landed on Teddy's bed before holding his leg up to give Teddy his letter. He muttered to himself, "wonder why they're writing me when they're coming up this afternoon?" He opened the letter and read,

 _Dear Teddy,_

 _I know we are coming to see you tonight, but I still wanted to be the first to wish you a happy birthday. I know you are always up bright and early on your birthday so I knew Prongs' tapping wouldn't wake you._

 _I can't believe you're a teenager. I remember the day your dad came to tell us you were born and that I was to be your Godfather. I was so excited for him, it was the happiest I had ever seen him. I so wish he was here to see the young man you've grown to be. That being said, I found a picture of our dads from when they were around thirteen and thought you might enjoy seeing it so I sent it with this letter._

 _Now, on a less depressing note (I can say that right? I always liked when people told me about my parents but also thought it was depressing so I didn't want to discuss it too long) we have your presents all wrapped and ready to go this afternoon. And I must say, I think you'll like mine the best._

 _Enjoy your day and we'll see you in a few hours._

 _Love,_

 _Harry_

Teddy reached for the envelope again to look for the picture. When he found it he looked at it for a few minutes before he hung it on the wall next to his bed. He looked at it one more time before going downstairs realizing that he had his father's eyes. It was the one thing he was never able to morph. They were the same shade of green no matter how hard he tried to change them. He didn't know why he had never noticed his father's eye color before now, he'd seen plenty of pictures. But in this one he looked so happy. He was laughing with the other boys and his smile actually reached his eyes for once. Maybe the was why he finally realized their eyes were the same. Whatever the reason it meant one thing to Teddy, he would never try to change his eyes again.

When Teddy made his way into the Great Hall he ran into Neville.

"Happy birthday Teddy!"

"Thank you Professor."

"Here, Hannah and I got you a little something." Neville handed Teddy a small package then.

When Teddy took it he looked up at Neville and said with a smile, "Professor, do you get all of your students birthday presents?"

"Only the ones I've known since they were babies. And until Victoria starts school thats only you. Well go ahead, open it."

So Teddy tore into the wrapping and found a board game. Upon closer inspection he saw that it was an agricultural game where you had to build/grow a garden. It was so Neville Teddy couldn't help but smile. He looked back up at Neville, "Thanks so much Professor. Maybe when we see you over the summer holiday we can all play it together."

Neville beamed, glad Teddy liked his gift. "That would be great Teddy. Well, I better get to the greenhouses to get ready for class. Enjoy your day!"

Teddy made his way over to the Hufflepuff table, it was mostly empty seeing as he was up so early. But he sat down to have breakfast and wait for his friends to join him. He was only alone for maybe 10 minutes before Neil and Lee came running into the Great Hall.

"Happy Birthday Teddy!" Lee gasped out of breath from racing Neil down there.

"I can't believe you get up so early on your birthday. I prefer to sleep in, its the only day my mum lets me get away with it."

The boys laughed in response and then Neil and Lee handed Teddy poorly wrapped packages. Teddy smiled and immediately started opening the first one he could get his hands on. Lee got him a quidditch play book specifically geared toward plays for chasers. Teddy smiled and thought that it would come in handy for next year. "I'm gonna read this cover to cover and memorize everything it says over the summer."

"Hey Lee maybe you should get yourself one of those books to study this summer too," Neil said jokingly.

"I did." Lee then pulled the same book out of his school bag.

Teddy shook his head at his friend and opened Neil's present. It was a broom cleaning kit. "Thanks Neil this is great."

"You're welcome."

The boys sat down to have breakfast then. While they were eating members of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team came by to wish Teddy a happy birthday. By the time the boys left for their first class of the day Teddy was having a great day already.

When Teddy got out of his last class of the day he was heading straight for Hagrid's hut to meet his family when he smack into Draco.

"Draco! Did you come with Gran?"

"Oh. No. I'm actually here for a different reason. Astoria and I sent your present with Andromeda. This was a last minute appointment or I would have brought it to you myself."

"I trust you've had a good day?"

"Yeah. It was good. Wish I didn't have homework. But other than that it was good."

"Ah, Draco there you are. Thank you for coming last minute." Headmistress McGonagall came walking down the corridor towards them with William Greengrass. "Oh Teddy, happy birthday."

"Thank you Headmistress. See you Draco, I'm meeting Gran Harry and Ginny at Hagrid's."

Teddy went to run off in that direction but Greengrass stuck his foot out tripping Teddy and muttering "Mutt" under his breath. Draco and McGonagall both rounded on Greengrass as Teddy was standing back up. Draco grabbed Greengrass' arm, "This is still going on?! I thought we talked about this! You and Your father swore to me that you would stop treating people like this!"

"Not sure why you care so much. I hear your favorite word when you were my age was Mudblood," Greengrass mumbled.

Draco paled and glanced at Teddy. He had definitely heard.

"Mr. Malfoy has grown into a wonderful man who does not deserve to have his past thrown in his face. You would be lucky if you turned out half as good as he did. Now, apologize to Teddy and your uncle and come with me."

He mumbled "Sorry" and followed McGonagall to her office.

Draco looked at Teddy again before following after them.

Teddy made his way down to Hagrid's a bit slower than he was going before thinking about what Greengrass had said about Draco. Draco had always been great to him. He never would have thought him capable of using such an awful word. When he finally made it to Hagrid's he was still very confused, but when Hagrid threw the door open and Junior jumped up to lick him in greeting he forgot about Draco. Inside he found his Gran, Harry, and Ginny sitting around Hagrid's table with a huge yellow cake sitting at the center of it. They all stood up so they could hug him and Ginny and his Gran kissed him. They all sat down around the table and his Gran started serving the cake.

"Cake before dinner?" Teddy asked with a look of shock.

"Every once in a while is okay, especially on your birthday" Andromeda said with a smile.

As Teddy dug in to his cake Harry started setting presents next to him on the table.

"You've got one from Grandmum Molly and Granddad Arthur, one from Hermione and Ron and the kids, one from George and Angelina and the kids, one from Percy and Audrey and the kids, one from Charlie, one from Bill and Fleur and the kids, one from Victoire -"

"I thought you said Bill and Fleur and the kids? Why wouldn't Victoire be included in that?"

"She got you a present on her own this year" Harry said with a shrug. "And then we got you one and so did Andromeda."

"Oh and Narcissi sent one and so did Draco and Astoria and Scorpius" Andromeda added.

This reminded Teddy of what he'd heard Greengrass say earlier. "Harry, you went to school with Draco right?"

"Yeah I did. Why?"

"Well, I know you guys weren't friends, because you're still friends with all the people you were friends with in school. But I wanted to ask about something I heard today about him."

Harry and Ginny exchanged a look. "Go ahead."

"Well, I ran into him on my way down here and then Professor McGonagall came by with William Greengrass and as I was leaving Draco Greengrass tripped me and called me a mutt -"

"WHAT?!" Ginny yelled. "I thought Draco handled that a long time ago?" She looked at Andromeda.

"He did. He talked with Griffin and William about it. Told Griffin in no uncertain terms that if he wanted to continue working for Draco then he would teach his son how you're supposed to treat people and that Astoria agreed with him so not to try running to her to get her to convince Draco to change his mind. William swore it would never happen again." She turned to Teddy, "Has this been happening all along and you just didn't mention it?"

"No, he's left me alone for a while now. Anyways, when he did that Draco tore into him and William's response was to say that he didn't know why Draco cared so much since when he was our age his favorite word was the M-word. Draco looked sick and Professor McGonagall said that Draco had grown into a wonderful man and that William would be lucky if he turned out half as good as he did. Was Draco horrible in school?"

They all exchanged looks again and seemed like they weren't going to answer. So Teddy looked to Hagrid because he knew he could get him to answer. "Hagrid?"

"Well, ter be honest Teddy, he wasn't the nicest. But I think it best if Harry or Ginny explained. They know more than I do bout how he was."

So Teddy looked to Harry and Ginny expectantly.

Ginny sighed, "Well, you have to understand that how you're raised affects how you act. The three of us raised you to treat all people nicely. But Draco's father was a very bad man and he taught Draco to be the same as him. Which meant putting stock in blood status. So yes he called muggle-borns the M-word."

"If you're going to tell him about how Lucius was you can't leave out Narcissi just because she's come to her senses now." Andromeda turned to Teddy, "She was just as bad as Lucius. That's why we didn't have a relationship until a while after the war. Really, it was the war that made her change. She almost lost Draco several times. And the war is what made Draco change too."

Ginny nodded, "When Harry, Ron, and Hermione saved him from the fiendfyre in the Room of Requirement during the final battle it meant a lot to Draco. He was grateful. He saw what our side was willing to do at the same time he saw what the Death Eaters were willing to do. And he didn't like what they were doing. He realized he'd been on the wrong side."

"Draco was a Death Eater?"

Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "Yes. But again, he's changed a lot. He regrets his actions during the war and has done a lot to make up for it. You know he helped Hermione pass the new legislature about the treatment of House Elves."

"I can't believe he was just like William. Worse really since he was a Death Eater. He's so nice now. Did he ever call Hermione the M-word?"

Hagrid snorted, "She was his favorite person her call that. Ron tried to hex him fer it once. Backfired on 'im. But Draco always called her that."

Harry and Ginny gave Hagrid a 'please stop talking' look then and he thankfully did.

"What? How am I supposed to be his friend now? How can you let him in our house Gran? He's horrible!"

"No he's not Teddy. Not now. He was bad when he was a teenager. Would you want something you did in school to be held against you for the rest of your life? You didn't know him back then, you have to focus on how he's been since he's been in your life."

Teddy stood up then, "He was on the same side as the people that killed my parents! Your daughter! Your husband! Harry's parents and Godfather! How could you all just get over that and let that go?! I love you all but I could have my parents now if it wasn't for them!"

Harry walked over to Teddy and reached out for him but Teddy backed away. Harry looked him in the eye, "I understand better than anyone else in this room how you feel. You just said they killed my parents and my Godfather. I was in the same situation as you growing up with no parents and then when I was 15 I lost my Godfather too. But Draco did not personally kill any of them. Voldemort himself killed my parents and Bellatrix killed Sirius. So I blame them for their deaths. Draco did not kill your parents. And there's no way to know if they would've lived had he been on our side instead. I know this is hard Teddy. But I've forgiven Draco for his involvement. And I think you would be better off doing the same. I'm not saying you have to do it this second. Take some time to come to terms with it of course. But you love Draco, so don't let this ruin your relationship with him."

Teddy looked away. "I couldn't imagine losing you in two years. You're the closest thing I have to a dad. You basically are my dad. I don't know how you get over that."

Harry reached for Teddy again and this time Teddy let him pull him into a hug. "It takes time. I still miss Sirius. It's why James is named James Sirius, for my dad and my Godfather. But its not healthy to blame everyone for it, especially someone who didn't do it. It's not healthy to hold grudges for too long."

Teddy nodded against Harry's chest.

Ginny added softly, "Why don't you come open some presents. Lets not let this ruin your birthday sweetie."

So Teddy sat back down and started on his pile of presents. He got books, a sneekoscope, drawings from the little kids, all sorts of things from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and Honeydukes, and a jumper. But his best present by far was Victoire's. She got him a signed England International Quidditch poster. It was of his favorite player, Liam Jennings. He decided he would owl her that night to ask how she had gotten it signed.

After they finished up their cake they all made their way back up to the castle to put Teddy's presents away before dinner. Teddy promptly hung his new poster above his bed next to the picture of his dad. Then they all made their way to the Great Hall. Unfortunately Harry and Ginny can never be at Hogwarts without getting a lot of attention. All the professors knew them and the students knew of them so they were often surrounded by people. Tonight was no different. All of the professors stopped by to say hi and the students were pointing and whispering. But Teddy was pretty used to it at this point, so he just enjoyed his time with them. Then when dinner was over they walked with Teddy to the faculty lounge and told Teddy goodnight there, hugging and kissing him.

"Bye. Thanks for coming and for my presents. Tell everyone else I said thanks too. I'll try to send them all letters thanking them."

"Good idea Teddy," Andromeda said, she was very old school in that she thought all presents deserved thank you letters.

"Love you all" Teddy said as he turned to head to his dormitory.

"Love you too" they called after him.

Harry led them into the lounge then where they found McGonagall waiting on them.

"Punctuality was never your strong suit was it Potter? I believe you and Weasley were late to your very first class here."

"Sorry Professor."

"Oh come on now Potter, I'm just kidding. And how many times do I have to tell you to call me Minerva?"

"Well its not easy to feel like an adult when you were always the scariest teacher and you just reprimanded me," Harry said with a slight blush.

Ginny, Andromeda, and Neville all laughed.

Harry looked to Neville, "You mean to tell me that when you hear her yelling at a student you don't panic even a little?"

Neville squirmed, "Maybe a little."

"That's what I thought."

McGonagall just shook her head at them both.

They all chatted for a bit before Andromeda, Harry, and Ginny used the floo to go home.

That night Teddy wrote everyone a thank you note. But Victoire's was different than the others:

 _Vic,_

 _Thank you so much for the poster! It's my favorite present. But how did you get the autograph? Seriously, I bet its a great story so I can't wait to hear it._

 _Teddy_

He sent the letter that night hoping she would answer him soon.

Teddy got his wish for a fast response, Moony came swooping in during lunch. When Teddy saw Victoire's handwriting on the envelope he set his food aside and immediately tore into it.

 _Teddy,_

 _I'm so glad you liked it. I wanted to get you something special because 13 is a big birthday. You're a teenager now. I can't wait to be a teenager. I bet its great._

 _Anyways, I sent Liam a letter telling him how you were his biggest fan (even though we argue over which one of us is actually his biggest fan) and how you studied his moves and tried to duplicate them when you played because you were a chaser on your House team. I told him you were turning 13 soon and that I wanted to get you something amazing because you're my best friend and that a signed picture of him would be the best present ever._

 _He wrote me back saying how my letter really stood out to him because most people just ask for an autograph for themselves not someone else. He said that he was impressed with my selflessness and would therefore be happy to send me something he thought you would like. He asked for your name and everything._

 _I wrote back thanking him a bunch and told him your name, what Hogwarts house you were in, and your jersey number._

 _So then a few days later I got another owl from him. He sent a letter with the poster that said he sent you a poster and included a signed picture for me. The picture says "To Victoire, you sound like a wonderful friend for someone to have. Yours, Liam Jennings". He also told me what he wrote on your poster. The poster was rolled up and I didn't want to see it before you did. He said he wrote "To Teddy, I'm glad to hear you are a chaser too. I won't hold you being in Hufflepuff against you (I was in Ravenclaw myself). Maybe one day we can talk strategy together. Hope you have a great 13th birthday. Liam Jennings"._

 _Is that what it said?_

 _Love,_

 _Victoire_

Lee and Neil were reading the letter over his shoulder. When Teddy finished reading it he grabbed some parchment to write her back, hoping to get the letter sent before lunch was over. While he was writing Neil asked, "Does she always sign her letters 'love Victoire'?"

Teddy looked up. "Pretty much, yeah. Why?"

Neil shrugged, "Its kinda weird don't you think?"

Lee nodded, "Yeah. You said she's your best friend. And so are we, but we don't sign our letters love Lee or Neil."

"I don't know. She's just always done it."

"Do you sign your's love Teddy?"

"No."

"Why not?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. I just never have. Does it matter?"

Neil shrugged again. "Maybe you should. I bet she would appreciate it."

Lee nodded in agreement.

Teddy thought about it while he was finishing his letter:

 _Vic,_

 _Oh my gosh thats awesome! You're awesome! Yeah thats what the poster said. I couldn't believe it when I read it. I hung it above my bed. Thank you again, seriously._

 _And being a teenager doesn't really feel any different than being 12 did. I think the real difference between you're age now and being a teenager is that you'll be at Hogwarts. But you'll start Hogwarts next year (hopefully being sorted into Hufflepuff) since you turn 11 soon. So I think that'll be more exciting than turning 13. Speaking of, I now have to try to top this gift for your birthday and you didn't leave me much time to do that. Especially since final exams are soon. But I will succeed. But lunch is almost over and I want to get this sent before I have to go to class so I guess I'm gonna be done now. I'll see you soon though._

 _Love,_

 _Teddy_

Teddy folded the letter and gave to to Moony, telling him to take it to Victoire. He started gathering his things for class but noticed Lee and Neil staring at him. "What?"

"You actually wrote love Teddy."

"Yeah. I didn't think you'd actually do it," added Lee.

"You were the ones that said I should."

"Yeah, but I didn't think you would. She's gonna think you're in love with her now."

"What? No. We're just friends."

Lee shook his head. "I'm pretty sure she's in love with you Teddy."

He shook his head, "No way. Not possible."

Neil nodded. "Dude, next time you're with her pay attention to how she looks at you. She's totally in love. You'll see."

Teddy just shook his head again, "Whatever guys. Come on, we better get to class."

They followed him from the Great Hall shaking their heads at just how thick their best friend was when it came to Victoire.


End file.
